Trump paves the way for deep-sea mining

President Trump is making moves for the United States to obtain the minerals in the seafloor, an offshore mining operation that some countries have banned.

Under an executive order signed Thursday, the U.S. will rapidly develop “domestic capabilities for exploration, characterization, collection, and processing of critical deep seabed minerals,” according to the White House.

Mr. Trump ordered the commerce secretary to expedite exploration and commercial recovery permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act and instructed the interior secretary to approve permits and licenses within the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

The two secretaries are to provide a joint report on the interest for exploration and mining and create a map of priority mining areas.

There is currently no seabed mining in U.S. or international waters, which is governed by the International Seabed Authority created by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1994. For the U.S., the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, governs the seabed mining of U.S. entities.

Critics of deep seabed mining warn that it could cause irreparable damage to marine life.

“This executive order is a life raft for an untested, opaque industry that science is telling us poses enormous threats to ocean ecosystems for little gain,” said Addie Haughey, legislative director of Earthjustice’s Lands, Wildlife and Oceans Program.

“It is yet another bid to give away our nation’s public lands and waters, this time coupled with a brazen attempt to circumvent international law to exploit our shared global oceans for corporate profits.”