“Trump plans to step up deep-sea mining of critical mineralsDonald Trump signed an executive order on mining on the shelf and the ocean floor. This should reduce US dependence on imports of
rare earth elements and create new jobs.”, — write: unn.ua
DetailsIt instructs the US Department of Commerce to expedite the review and issuance of permits for exploration and commercial mining in accordance with the American law of 1980, according to senior White House officials who briefed reporters on the measures on Thursday.
Although permits may cover territory far beyond the outer continental shelf of the United States, the country’s president is also launching potential seabed mining in US coastal waters. According to Trump’s decree, the country’s Interior Minister, Dag Burgum, is obliged to establish a process for approving permits and issuing licenses for seabed mining in US waters in accordance with the same law that has long regulated oil well drilling there.
The US President is also commissioning a number of reports, including a study of the use of the US National Defense Reserve for minerals contained in marine sediments and an assessment of private sector interest in this activity.
The order proposes that the US International Development Finance Corporation and the US Export-Import Bank explore options for providing financing and other support for exploration, extraction, processing and environmental monitoring of seabed resources.
Trump’s directive comes amid growing concern about new Chinese restrictions on exports of rare earth materials used in electric vehicle batteries, smartphones and other technologies in response to Trump’s tariffs. China’s actions have raised concerns about obtaining alternative supplies of metals, given the country’s dominance in their extraction and processing.
Criticism from BeijingThe decree drew criticism from Beijing. Trump’s plan violates international law because it will apply to seabed areas that “do not belong to any country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a daily press briefing on Friday.
In search of rare earthsThe Trump administration, as indicated, views deep-sea mining as another way to extract rare earth elements such as manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper, “which will help wean the United States off foreign suppliers and open up new opportunities for export,” the publication writes. In 10 years, the seabed mining industry could create 100,000 jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefits, said one White House official.
Supporters of mining warn that without action, the US and its allies risk ceding mining to China. In a report released earlier this month, RAND estimated that seabed mining would lead to lower metal prices and could provide enough nickel and cobalt to meet projected US demand in 2040. These materials are key ingredients in lithium-ion batteries.
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Trump’s decree is expected to benefit The Metals Company, or TMC, which has been seeking for years to process mineral-rich deposits covering the seabed in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, international waters in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. The Vancouver-based company’s push is complicated by long-standing debates over potential rules by the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority, which governs the region.
Last month, TMC said it was seeking exploration licenses and commercial mining permits from the Trump administration under the 45-year-old Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.
Any move to approve permits – with the US effectively bypassing the International Seabed Authority – is criticized as a violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which established the body. It also threatens to derail more than a decade of negotiations on adopting rules that would allow mining to begin.
What environmentalists are sayingEnvironmental advocates are pushing for stricter international regulation of deep-sea mining, warning that the activity could endanger key marine environments and the organisms that live on the ocean floor.