Controversial form of resource extraction takes the next bureaucratic step.
In April 2025, the United States announced plans to advance deep-sea resource extraction. On Monday, another formal step was taken toward implementing those plans. The Marine Minerals Administration, established only in July and operating under the U.S. Department of the Interior, has published a “Proposed Leasing Notice”. The notice identifies areas in U.S. federal waters that could potentially be leased to companies at a later stage and sets out the conditions that would apply.
Ahead of the announcement, agency experts also assessed the potential environmental impacts of leasing the selected areas. The areas in question are located around the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory east of the Philippines. Such a lease would not in itself authorize future mining activities. Companies would first have to submit additional plans, which would be subject to a separate environmental review and require approval from the authorities.
Featured image: via Canva, montage by rawmaterials.net
