A monumental decision for massive seabed mining in the Pacific region by the United States is set to unfold.
Millions of acres of territory have been put up for sale by Washington to attract a potential contractor to help the US harness critical earth minerals seen as necessary to maintain and bolster its national security.
Lots of land under the water up for sale
The Marine Mineral Administration (MMA) has submitted a crucial proposal revealing that a whopping 67 million acres of seabed off the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) have been included in a leasing notice while urging the streamlining of bureaucracies that could hamper the US seabed mining industry.
According to MMA, the Pacific region is rich in mineral deposits, including manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper, as well as other rare earth minerals vital for producing batteries and electronic parts and devices.
The bidding is expected to be held on December 16, 2026, in California.
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What’s in it for the US?
Jumpstarting the highly contested and opposed seabed mining is also needed to maintain supply chains and manufacturing ventures in the future, according to MMA Director Matt Giacona.
He added that the move would also protect US national security, as the minerals unearthed from the Pacific seabed would be used in local defence technologies.
Moreover, part of the MMA proposal was completing an Environmental Assessment to better understand the environmental impacts of mining in the Outer Continental Shelf of the US near the CNMI.
Giacona said that the US is keen to reiterate its interests and sovereignty in its own territories in the Pacific region while breaking away from relying on foreign nations in supplying its economy and defence industries with earth minerals.
What is seabed mining?
According to the British National Oceanography Center, seabed mining, also known as deep-sea mining, is the act of collecting and processing earth minerals found 1,000 meters below the surface.
Despite its growing popularity, commercial seabed mining has remained limited to attempts by small organisations, and commercial operations have yet to be launched.
Some of the targeted mineral deposits of seabed mining include polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts and seafloor sulphides, all important in spearheading modern technology, especially in the defence sector.
The first-ever recorded instance of deep-sea mining was discovered on the Blake Plateau in South Carolina, dating back to the 1970s, where traces of disturbances on the seabed remain apparent after more than 50 years.
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The dangers of mining under the sea
Environmental groups have long criticised the move since the initial proposal in July, arguing that seabed mining would disrupt marine ecosystems and cause long-term or irreversible damage to the planet’s largest ocean.
Some of the environmental harm that could result from seabed mining includes noise pollution, destruction of habitats and displacement of sediment plumes that could, in theory, travel for kilometres and cover large areas of reefs.
Experts and environmentalists have warned that launching intense man-made activities under the ocean, particularly seabed mining, would permanently scar marine ecosystems on which both marine species and humans depend, especially at a time when climate impacts are apparent on land and under the sea.
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