President Donald Trump has signed an executive order intended to expedite offshore mining and open new opportunities for extracting critical materials from the ocean floor despite the objections of environmentalists.
Trump’s measure, signed Thursday, directs the Commerce Department to speed up reviewing and issuing permits for exploration and commercial recovery under a 1980 law, according to senior White House officials who briefed reporters on the action.
While the permits could cover territory far beyond the US Outer Continental Shelf, the president is also setting in motion potential seabed mining within US coastal waters. Under Trump’s order, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is charged with establishing a process for approving permits and granting licenses for seabed mining in US waters, under the same law that has long governed oil drilling there.
The president is also ordering a raft of reports, including a study of using the US National Defense Stockpile for minerals contained within sea deposits and an assessment of private-sector interest in the activity.
Environmentalists are seeking stiffer international regulation of deep-sea mining, warning that the activity could imperil key marine habitats and the organisms that live on the ocean bottom.
The order directs the US International Development Finance Corporation and the US Export-Import Bank to study options for providing financing and other support for exploration, extraction, processing and environmental monitoring of seabed resources.
Trump’s directive comes amid increasing concern over new Chinese curbs on the export of rare-earth materials used in electric vehicle batteries, smartphones and other technology, a response to Trump’s tariffs. China’s moves have generated worries about obtaining alternate supplies for the metals given the country’s dominance in mining and refining them.
Earlier: Deep-Sea Mining Race Amps Up as Rules Still Up in the Air
Deep-sea mining is seen by the administration as another avenue for extracting rare-earth elements such as manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper, helping wean the US off foreign suppliers and opening new export opportunities. Over 10 years, a seabed mineral extraction industry could yield 100,000 jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefits, one of the White House officials said.
Mining advocates have warned that without action, the US and allies risk forfeiting seabed mineral extraction to China. In a report earlier this month, RAND estimated that production from seabed mining would decrease metal prices and could produce enough nickel and cobalt to meet projected US demand in 2040. The materials are essential ingredients in lithium-ion batteries.
With assistance from Todd Woody and Joe Deaux.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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