U.S. agencies move toward possible deep-sea mining permits after Trump order

Thursday, May 21, 2026Science & ClimateDeveloping4 frames

Since Trump signed an executive order to build a U.S. deep-sea mining industry, businesses have raised money and federal regulators have accelerated work on permits and rules.
An Associated Press review found that at least nine companies are in talks with the U.S. government for access to seabed minerals.
Federal officials are considering offshore mining areas from American Samoa to Alaska, and BOEM has said a first lease sale could come as early as August.
The U.S. could soon authorize commercial seabed mining in international waters, which the AP reports has not yet been done.
The International Seabed Authority has granted exploration rights to nearly two dozen contractors but has not allowed commercial mining, while delegates have spent more than a decade working on globally agreed rules for areas beyond any single country's jurisdiction.
Questions remain about the sector's economics, with analysts and investors cited in the AP report questioning whether deep-sea mining can compete with available land-based mineral sources.

How left and right are reading this

Both agree: A major U.S. push is moving deep-sea mining from concept toward possible commercial approval, with permits, rules, and lease planning advancing even as the global regime remains unfinished and the industry's economic viability is still unsettled.
They split on: Whether the story is about the government rushing public authority behind an extractive industry with dubious economics, or about the U.S. breaking from a stalled international process to pursue strategic mineral self-reliance despite unresolved market questions.

Since Trump signed an executive order to build a U.S. deep-sea mining industry, businesses have raised money and federal regulators have accelerated work on permits and rules.
An Associated Press review found that at least nine companies are in talks with the U.S. government for access to seabed minerals.
Federal officials are considering offshore mining areas from American Samoa to Alaska, and BOEM has said a first lease sale could come as early as August.
The U.S. could soon authorize commercial seabed mining in international waters, which the AP reports has not yet been done.
The International Seabed Authority has granted exploration rights to nearly two dozen contractors but has not allowed commercial mining, while delegates have spent more than a decade working on globally agreed rules for areas beyond any single country's jurisdiction.
Questions remain about the sector's economics, with analysts and investors cited in the AP report questioning whether deep-sea mining can compete with available land-based mineral sources.