Current Status
Following President Trump’s April 2025 executive order Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — now the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA)— and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have taken steps to facilitate commercial deep-sea critical minerals mining, both within the United States exclusive economic zone and in international waters beyond national jurisdiction.
Why it Matters
Demand for critical minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, has increased due to their importance in batteries, wind turbines, consumer electronics, and more. Although these minerals can be found on land, they are also present in polymetallic nodules and crusts on the seafloor. As a result, interest in deep-sea mining has increased in recent years. The environmental impacts of seabed mining are poorly understood, as the composition and distribution of marine communities on the seafloor is still under-researched.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ratified in 1982, established the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in 1996, which regulates seabed mining in waters beyond countries’ national jurisdiction. UNCLOS states that seabed resources are the common heritage of humankind, and the ISA accordingly incorporates a system of profit-sharing mechanisms and reserved areas for developing countries. The ISA is currently developing regulations for commercial exploitation of seabed minerals.
The United States is the only major power that is not a party to UNCLOS. Under the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRH), Congress empowered NOAA to license exploration and commercial mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction (i.e., in international waters). This jurisdiction overlaps and conflicts with the authority of the ISA. Within federal waters, the Department of the Interior (DOI), through BOEM regulates seabed mining under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
Timeline
Oct.19, 2026 MMA announced the Final Leasing Notice for an Outer Continental Shelf minerals lease offshore American Samoa. The lease sale is scheduled for November 19, 2026.
Oct. 19, 2026 American Samoan and Hawaiian advocacy groups filed suit against the Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) and the Secretary of the Interior, asking the court to block the planned sale of deep-sea mining leases off the coast of American Samoa. They allege that MMA lacks authority to sell these leases and that the agency did not study all potential effects in its environmental analysis. Faleula o le Manu’atele v. Marine Minerals Admin., No. 1:26-cv-00543 (D. Haw.).
Oct. 14, 2026 The MMA released a Finding of No Significant Impact for two proposed commercial leases to explore marine minerals offshore American Samoa.
Sept. 4, 2026 The EPA released a proposed rule, Updates to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Definitions and Exclusions. While the rule is targeted at providing exemptions for industrial-scale trawl operations, groups advocating against deep-sea mining note that it could relax restrictions for mineral transportation resulting from deep-sea mining operations.
Aug. 18, 2026 American Samoan and Hawaiian advocacy groups filed suit against National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick. They allege that NMFS’s Letter of Concurrence that the lease sale was “not likely to adversely affect” any species or critical habitat violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA). Fa’asao Amerika Samoa v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., No. 1:26-cv-00438 (D. Haw.).
Aug. 17, 2026 NOAA announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate the environmental impacts of issuing a license to The Metals Company, USA for deep seabed mining exploration activities. The license would cover activities over a 122,000 square kilometer area southeast of Hawaii. If NOAA issues the requested license, it would be the first deep-sea exploration license issued since 1984.
Aug. 17, 2026 BOEM announced the availability of the Proposed Leasing Notice for the Northern Mariana Islands Offshore Minerals lease sale anticipated later this year.
July 16, 2026 BLM issued a proposed leasing notice for a proposed American Samoa outer continental shelf mineral lease sale to be held in November 2026 and totalling approximately 31 million acres.
June 23, 2026 BOEM released a Request for Information for seabed mining offshore Virginia, initiating a 30-day public comment process. The total area covers approximately 1.7 million acres, and the target materials include critical minerals and heavy mineral sands.
March 18, 2026 BOEM identified areas for critical minerals leasing offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The area encompasses 69 million acres, including areas adjacent to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument.
Jan. 29, 2026 BOEM released a Request for Information for seabed mining in multiple areas of the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf, initiating a 30-day public comment process. The total area covers 114 million acres, and the target materials include critical minerals and heavy minerals sands.
Jan. 22, 2026 NOAA announced plans to conduct a hydrographic survey in federal waters off American Samoa beginning in February 2026. The survey is intended to map critical mineral deposits pursuant to President Trump’s April 2025 order promoting deep sea mining.
Jan. 21, 2026 NOAA published a final rule streamlining permit applications for hard mineral mining in international waters. Prospective applicants may now apply for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit simultaneously.
Nov. 12, 2025 BOEM initiated a 30-day public comment process for commercial seabed mineral mining offshore the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Nov. 10, 2025 BOEM identified an 18 million acre area within federal waters off American Samoa for possible leasing. Next, BOEM will conduct an environmental analysis of leasing effects.
June 16, 2025 BOEM published a Request for Information and Interest for commercial seabed mineral mining leases offshore American Samoa. This opened a 30-day public comment period, later extended to August 15.
May 20, 2025 DOI announced that it was initiating a process to evaluate a potential mineral lease sale in the waters offshore American Samoa. DOI’s announcement cites an April 8 formal request for a lease sale from Impossible Metals.
April 24, 2025 President Trump issued an executive order, Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, directing DOI to develop processes for permitting seabed mining on the outer continental shelf. The executive order also directs NOAA and BOEM to “expedite the process” for permitting seabed mining in international waters.