On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order intended to facilitate deep-sea mining for corporations, with the aim of establishing “a robust domestic supply for critical minerals.” Currently, there is no commercial-scale mining of the deep seafloor worldwide. However, companies have long considered the ocean floor as a potential source of metals like nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper, which are essential for electric vehicle batteries and other technologies.
These valuable metals are found in potato-sized nodules on the ocean floor, particularly in the Pacific Ocean’s central region, which is outside individual countries’ jurisdictions. The executive order may bypass ongoing international negotiations concerning the regulation of deep-sea mining. Traditionally, these areas have been managed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which has been working for years to create a regulatory framework for a potential seabed mining industry. Although the U.S. did not ratify the treaty governing the seabed and is not a voting member of the ISA, previous administrations have respected the ISA process.
Trump’s executive order directs federal agencies to expedite the review and issuance of permits for mining activities on the seafloor in U.S. and international waters. The order utilizes the “Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act” from 1980. Environmental groups and scientists have criticized the order, expressing concerns that mining the deep seabed could harm significant marine ecosystems and negatively impact the fishing industry.
Douglas McCauley, an ocean science professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, warned that mining in fragile ecosystems could have catastrophic biological impacts. Underwater mining can generate sediment plumes that may suffocate marine life and disrupt fish food webs, according to McCauley.
Moreover, the necessity of seabed mining for obtaining minerals needed for technologies like batteries is questioned by Micah Ziegler, an assistant professor of energy and chemical systems at Georgia Institute of Technology. Previously, there were concerns about limitations in land-based mining for metals such as cobalt and nickel, but alternative battery chemistries have emerged that might reduce reliance on these elements, Ziegler noted.
In addition to scientific concerns, a Canadian mining company, The Metals Company, expressed interest in applying for a U.S. permit for seafloor mining. Following the executive order, the company’s shares increased by 44% by Thursday’s end.
