New executive order accelerates US deep-sea mining

According to the White House’s latest Fact Sheet, the order:

• Rapidly develops domestic capabilities for exploration, characterisation, collection, and processing of critical deep seabed minerals.
• Instructs the Secretary of Commerce to expedite the process for reviewing and issuing exploration and commercial recovery permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.
• Directs the Secretary of Commerce, along with the Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Energy, to provide a report identifying:
  • Private sector interest and opportunities for seabed mineral exploration, mining, and monitoring in the US Outer Continental Shelf.
  • Private sector interest and opportunities for nodule and other seabed mineral resource processing capacity in the US or on US flagged vessels.
• Directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, and Interior to develop a plan to map priority areas of the seabed to accelerate data collection.
• Directs the Secretary of Interior to establish a process for reviewing and approving permits and granting licenses within the US Outer Continental Shelf under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and identify which critical minerals may be derived from seabed resources for defence, infrastructure, and energy purposes in coordination with the Secretaries of Energy and Defense.
• Directs the Secretaries of Commerce, State, Interior, and Energy to engage with partners and allies for seabed mineral exploration and provide a joint report for the feasibility of an international seabed benefit-sharing mechanism.
• Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Energy to provide a report addressing feasibility of using National Defense Stockpile for nodule-derived minerals; review and revise domestic processing capability for seabed mineral resources and DPA authorities; and have the Strategic and Critical Minerals Board develop a strategy.
• Directs the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corp., President of the Export-Import Bank of the US, and Director of the US Trade and Development Agency to provide a report identifying tools to support domestic and international seabed mineral resource exploration, extraction, processing, and environmental monitoring.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/25042025/new-executive-order-accelerates-us-deep-sea-mining/