Trump Signs Order to Surge Deep-Sea Mineral Mining

Epoch Times

25-04-2025

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 24 fast-tracking a new industry, offshore deep-sea mineral mining in the Pacific Ocean.
Trump's
The order also instructs the secretaries of commerce, interior, and energy to provide a report on private sector interest and opportunities in deep-seabed mining for mineral nodules and 'other seabed mineral resource[s],' while also developing a plan to map priority areas within the seabed to 'accelerate data collection.'
Deep-sea mineral deposits can take various forms, including what are called 'polymetallic nodules,' or potato-sized mineral clumps with large concentrations of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper, which require millions of years to develop at several miles below sea level, according to a 2024
An area in the Pacific Ocean just southeast of Hawaii, known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, has an abundance of these nodules, the report noted, estimated to be 34 billion wet metric tons. The metals contained within are estimated to be worth roughly $10 trillion, according to the Berkeley report.
China dominates the world supply chains for nearly all critical mineral sources, including the metals found in the deep-sea nodules, according to a 2022
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In response to new tariffs, China has moved to block its exports of critical minerals to America.
Trump's order, according to the White House, would increase American critical mineral production. It would also likely allow private companies to bypass the International Seabed Authority, the main United Nations-backed regulatory body that creates rules for seabed exploration.
Currently, according to Berkeley, that body has issued exploration permits for the ocean floor for deep-sea mineral deposits, but as of last year, it had not yet issued active commercial deep-sea mining permits. Many companies have pushed for the International Seabed Authority to approve commercial mining in the deep sea.
However, deep-sea mining does not come without a price, according to the Berkeley report.
The mining operations could 'disturb the habitats of various organisms and disrupt non-food-chain-related interactions in the deep-sea ecosystems like how organisms find shelter,' the report noted, as the metal nodules provide 'vital substrate for organisms like sea sponges and corals.'
Removing them could have significant environmental impacts on the organisms that rely on them for survival, according to the Berkeley report.
Trump's order continues his administration's efforts to increase U.S. energy and mineral production and supply, with a previous order advancing the 'Ambler Access Project,' commercial mining along a 211-mile industrial road in remote Northwest Alaska that is rich in copper, zinc, and other materials, the White House said.