The Trump administration is setting the stage to sell mining rights off the coast of American Samoa as demand surges for critical materials used in electric vehicle batteries, smart phones and other technology.
The Interior Department said Tuesday it planned to seek information from the public and gauge commercial interest from companies in potentially exploring the area, a first step toward a possible lease sale near the US territory in the South Pacific.
The move follows a request for a lease sale from a company the Interior Department identified as US-based Impossible Metals. It also comes less than a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to accelerate offshore mining and open new opportunities for extracting critical materials from the ocean floor.
“Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation’s resilience and safeguarding our national interests,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release. “By providing opportunities to responsibly access deep-sea mineral resources, we are supporting both American economic growth and national security.”
There’s growing appetite in Washington for new domestic sources of critical minerals, following China’s decision to curb exports of rare-earth materials. Yet environmentalists have warned against deep-sea mining, arguing it could threaten sea life and marine habitats.
Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy already sells oil and gas leases on the US Outer Continental Shelf. The agency has also leased offshore waters for wind farm development.
But the move to evaluate a potential mineral lease sale in federal waters is the first action of its kind in more than 30 years, Interior said.
The Interior Department did not provide a timeline for a potential sale but said it would review input from indigenous Island communities, ocean users, industry and other stakeholders. The agency said the ocean energy bureau will assess geologic conditions in the area as well as potential environmental and cultural impacts from offshore mining in the region.
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