On Thursday, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to facilitate the deep-sea mining activities of companies, with the aim of establishing a strong domestic supply of critical minerals. Currently, there is no large-scale commercial deep-sea mining taking place globally, but the ocean floor has long been considered a potential resource for metals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper. These metals are essential components in the manufacturing of batteries and other technologies.
These valuable metals are found in potato-sized nodules resting on the ocean bed, predominantly located in the central Pacific Ocean, outside of any one nation’s jurisdiction. The executive order issued on Thursday could bypass international discussions currently in progress, which aim to set up regulations for deep-sea mining. Historically, these regions have been managed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which has been striving for years to develop a regulatory framework for seabed mining. The United States has not ratified the treaty governing the seabed and thus lacks voting rights within the ISA. However, previous U.S. administrations have generally acknowledged the ISA’s procedures.
The executive order mandates federal agencies to hasten the review and permitting process for seabed mining, both domestically and internationally, leveraging the “Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act” from 1980. Nonetheless, the directive has faced criticism from scientific and environmental circles, who warn of the potential harm to significant marine ecosystems and the fishing industry. Douglas McCauley, an ocean science professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, raised concerns about the ecological risks, stating that mining in such ecosystems could have devastating biological impacts.
McCauley elaborated on how underwater mining might generate sediment plumes, potentially suffocating marine organisms and disrupting food webs crucial to fish populations. Micah Ziegler, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, questioned the necessity of seabed mining given recent advancements in battery technology. He noted that while land-based sources of metals like cobalt and nickel were limited, newer battery chemistries might reduce or eliminate dependency on these elements.
Amid these discussions, The Metals Company, a Canadian mining company, has shown interest in applying for a U.S. permit to conduct seabed mining. By the close of the market on Thursday, the company’s shares had risen by 44%.