President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, April 24, to expand US deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals in domestic and international waters, despite warnings by environmental groups. White House aides say the initiative could see US operations scoop up more than a billion metric tons of deep-sea nodules and pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the American economy. The fast-tracking also flies in the face of a decade-long international effort to set ground rules for the burgeoning deep-sea industry.
Commercial deep-sea mining remains in its infancy, but with a global race underway for rare earth minerals – and the industry dominated by China – Washington appears set on expanding its collection capacity to benefit its defense, advanced manufacturing and energy industries. Under the order, the secretary of commerce has 60 days to "expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction."
The boosted deep-sea mining policy is aimed in part at "strengthening partnerships with allies and industry to counter China's growing influence over seabed mineral resources," it said. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is scrambling to devise a rulebook for deep-sea mining, balancing its economic potential against warnings of irreversible environmental damage. The United States is not a member of the UN-affiliated body.
'Reckless industrial exploitation'
Last week the American firm Impossible Metals said it had asked US officials to "commence a leasing process" in a parcel of the Pacific Ocean surrounding far-flung US territory American Samoa. The bid circumvents the ISA by mining within US jurisdiction, rather than international waters. Key seabed resources include polymetallic nodules, potato-sized pebbles found at depths of 13,000 to 20,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters) that contain manganese, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.
A senior administration official told reporters shortly before the signing that the US could retrieve more than a billion metric tons of material, and the process could create some 100,000 jobs and generate $300 billion in domestic GDP over 10 years. Several countries are scrambling to increase capacity for deep-sea mining, seen as a potential boon for industries and the green energy transition. But environmental groups warn the process can cause major ecological damage.
"Fast-tracking deep-sea mining is an environmental disaster in the making," Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. "Trump is trying to open one of Earth's most fragile and least understood ecosystems to reckless industrial exploitation."
Canada-based deep-sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company recently stunned industry observers with an attempt to sideline the ISA. After years of pushing the authority to adopt rules for industrial-scale mining, The Metals Company abruptly announced earlier this year it would seek US approval instead.