Despite environmentalist objections, President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at accelerating offshore mining to extract critical materials from the seabed and opening new opportunities.
The measure directs the Department of Commerce to speed up review and issuance of exploration and commercial recovery permits under the 1980 law, according to senior White House officials who explained Thursday’s action.
Permissions can cover territory well beyond the US outer continental shelf, but the president has also set it up for potential submarine mining within US coastal waters. Under Trump’s orders, Interior Secretary Doug Burgham is accused of establishing a process of approving permits and licensing submarine mining in US waters under the same law that has long governed oil drilling there.
The White House issued the order as one of several measures that Trump “positions the United States at the forefront of critical mineral production and innovation.”
The president has also ordered numerous reports, including research using US defense stockpiles for minerals found in marine sediments and an assessment of private sector interest in activities.
The order directs the US International Development Finance Corporation and the US Export Bank to study options to provide funding and other support for exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring of submarine resources.
Trump’s directives are growing concerns over the new Chinese curbs over exports of rare earth materials used in electric vehicle batteries, smartphones and other technologies, as well as Trump’s response to tariffs. China’s move has created concerns about obtaining metal alternatives given the country’s control in mining and refinement.
Deep sea mining is considered another means of extracting rare earth elements such as manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper, helping to separate the US from foreign suppliers and open new export opportunities. For more than a decade, the undersea mineral extraction industry could bring 100,000 jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefits, one White House official said.
Mining advocates warn that without action, the US and its allies risk confiscating submarine mineral extraction into China. In a report earlier this month, Rand Corp. estimated that production from undersea mining could lower metal prices and produce enough nickel and cobalt to meet the expected US demand in 2040.
Trump’s order is expected to benefit metals companies that have been trying to collect mineral-rich deposits covering the seabed of the Clarion Kriparton Zone, an international Pacific waters between Hawaii and Mexico. The push for the Vancouver-based company is complicated by long-term debate over potential regulations from the UN-related international submarine authorities that control the region.
The metals company said last month it was pursuing an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit from the Trump administration under the Deep Sea Bed Hard Mineral Resources Act 45 years ago.
The US’s move to grant permission by effectively avoiding international undersea authorities has been criticized as a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that established the remains. It also threatens to disrupt more than a decade of negotiations to enact regulations that allow mining to begin.
Environmentalists are calling for stiffer international regulations for deep-sea mining, warning that this activity could put critical marine habitats and living creatures on the seabed.
The Sea Treaty established international submarine authorities, but the US is not a signatory, so conservatives argue that the US government should not voluntarily submit it. The treaty also reserved several mining areas in the US Clarion Clipperton Zone in case the country ultimately joins the treaty. The United States has enacted the Deep Sea Mineral Resources Act. It writes out the steps to ensure that US companies have access to materials there.
Dlouhy and Lai write for Bloomberg News.
