US Administration Targets Deepsea Mining Permits
The Interior Secretary of the US government announced that the US government was planning to issue permits to allow deepsea mining within the next few months.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made the comments during a meeting of G20 energy ministers in Houston on 14 September 2026.
In comments reported by Reuters, Doug said “Those modules that we just have to go out and vacuum up off the floor are filled with these critical minerals that we need.”
“Part of that is assuring that we’ve got diverse, secure, affordable supply of critical minerals.”
Part of the appeal of deepsea mining lies in the apparent ready supply of polymetallic nodules containing manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper from the deep seabed in certain areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Recent advances in maritime technology, and in particular advances in the realm of automated mining vehicles capable of harvesting such nodules at great depths of over 4,000m. These advances indicate that subsea mining technology has moved far beyond the dredging of the diamond rich seabed found off the coast of Namibia.
The attraction in securing a domestic supply of such critical raw materials would help to address US supply concerns around critical raw materials. Such motivations were cited by President Donald Trump when he signed Executive Order 14285 authorising greater interest in deepsea mining in 2025.
American Samoa Licence Auction
The Interior Department oversees the Marine Minerals Administration, which was established in March 2026, bringing together the responsibilities of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. The MMA has responsibility for issuing permits to extract minerals from US territorial waters.
While the US issued two exploration licenses to Lockheed Martin in 1984, the US has not until now issued any commercial recovery permits to companies seeking to operate in US waters.
An auction covering a block of 16.3m acres and a second block of 15.1m acres off the eastern coast of America Samoa will be held in November 2026. Royalty rates have been set at 2% for the first five years and 5% subsequently.
The process of obtaining a commercial recovery licence is currently being simplified, with the MMA condensing the licence and permit application processes into a single step.
In August, a subsea mining focused company, The Metals Company USA, submitted the first application for commercial recovery under this consolidated process. The consultation period for the application, which covers an area of the mineral-rich Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a region of the central Pacific Ocean situated between Hawaii and Mexico, will close on 19 October.
Crossed Streams in International Waters
The UN-based International Seabed Authority has responsibility for regulating mineral extraction from seabeds outside international waters. However, the ISA is currently discussing a Draft Mining Code, with divisions between member states delaying agreement. The last meeting was held in March 2026 at the ISA’s headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.
The US, along with a number of other states who are not parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), does not recognise the authority of the UN to regulate deepsea mining in international extraterritorial waters.
In fact, the US asserts its right to issue exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits to US companies in areas beyond national jurisdiction, provided all statutory and regulatory requirements are met.
What is deep seabed mining?
Deep seabed mining is the extraction of critical mineral resources from the ocean floor. The deep seabed has valuable resources like manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. Critical minerals are used in everything from defence systems and batteries to smartphones and medical devices. Access to these minerals is a key factor in the resilience of global supply chains. In addition to polymetallic nodules, other mineral-rich resources include massive sulfides.
Key Deepsea Mining Tech Partners
Global Sea Mineral Resources - GSR is the deep-sea exploration division of DEME Group, the Netherlands-based marine engineering firm. GSR is focused on the exploration and exploitation of polymetallic nodules found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.
Impossible Metals - Impossible Metals is a US-based marine technology company that is developing autonomous underwater robotic systems for the selective collection of polymetallic nodules. Impossible Metals' proprietary collection system uses computer vision, robotic arms and a buoyancy control system to collect the nodules from the seafloor.
Moby Robotics - Moby Robotics is developing autonomous robotic systems, and is also conducting research into production, storage and offloading platforms for critical raw materials.