The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will consider selling leases to extract minerals from the seabed off the South Pacific island of American Samoa, a potential first step in a wider industry push to allow deep-sea mining that environmentalists oppose because they say it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems.
The Department of Interior said it is responding to an April request from California-based company Impossible Metals for a commercial auction. The company wants to mine the ocean floor for deposits of nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals.
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fast-track permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in U.S. and international waters. The move comes amid the Trump administration's trade war with China, which controls many critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese used in high-tech manufacturing, including for military uses.
“Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation’s resilience and safeguarding our national interests,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release. He said the upcoming evaluation could be a prelude to future mining in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
Environmentalists worry that ocean mining could harm fisheries and even affect oceans’ ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming. More than 30 countries, as well as fisheries trade groups, environmentalists and some auto and tech companies, have called for a moratorium on seabed mining.
“We’re ready for a fight as Trump’s dangerous deep-sea mining obsession worsens,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Mining the ocean floor will damage fragile habitat and unique critters we haven’t even discovered yet. Island communities depend on healthy oceans and declaring open season on mineral prospecting puts people and wildlife at risk.”
Impossible Metals said it has developed an autonomous underwater robot that uses artificial intelligence to minimize harm to marine life and habitat.
“Beginning the process to access seabed minerals from our own waters is a big win for the U.S. (by) securing critical minerals here at home instead of relying on foreign competitors," Impossible Metals CEO Oliver Gunasekara said in an email. "We’re ready to work with all stakeholders to show that bold innovation, economic prosperity, and environmental protection can go together.”
Burgum said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will undertake a multistep evaluation, starting with public input.
Opponents say any U.S. approval of deep-sea mining would ignore an ongoing process to adopt international rules for the practice. Most countries in the 1990s joined a United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority to govern seabed mining in international waters. But the U.S. never signed on to the effort, which hasn't yet adopted rules.
Countries can approve mining in their own territorial waters, so Impossible Metals wouldn’t need permission from the authority. Canada-based The Metals Company has said it plans to apply this year through a U.S. subsidiary for permits to mine in international waters.
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Tammy Webber, The Associated Press
