President Donald Trump's executive order promising to create a US deep-sea mining industry has triggered a rush of firms seeking seabed mineral permits as federal agencies accelerate approvals.
An Associated Press review found at least nine companies in talks for access to areas from American Samoa to Alaska, and the industry is focused on polymetallic nodules and other seafloor minerals that proponents say contain manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt and some rare earth elements.
"It just feels right to people thinking that there is a cornucopia of metals on the bottom of the seafloor," said Victor Vescovo, a private equity investor and deep-sea explorer.
Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to reorganize into a Marine Minerals Administration and has budgeted for a lease sale as early as August, while NOAA has changed rules to let companies apply for exploration and commercial permits together and is seeking funds to process 16 applications next fiscal year.
The Metals Company, which hauled 3,000 metric tons of nodules in a 2022 trial, says it could begin commercial mining before the end of next year if permitted and has spent nearly $800,000 lobbying on seabed mining since 2024.
Other entrants include Odyssey Marine Exploration, Impossible Metals, American Metal Resources, SeaX and Deep Sea Minerals, and several firms have spotty track records, prior legal disputes and specialized marine technology.
Local leaders in American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas have banned or pushed to block mining in their water and environmental scientists warn the deep ocean is poorly studied and highly vulnerable.
Regulatory fast-tracking and industry optimism set up a test this summer and fall as agencies move toward lease sales and companies press for operating permits.