New mineral companies are lining up to ask the Trump administration for permission to explore international waters in the Pacific Ocean for mineral-rich nodules.
American Metal Resources and SeaX are asking NOAA for approval to probe the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific that covers 65,000 square kilometers — about the size of West Virginia — for nodules containing minerals like cobalt, nickel and lithium, according to a Federal Register notice posted Monday.
Both companies are subsidiaries of American Metal Resources, according to the notice. NOAA did not immediately respond when asked for details.
The Trump administration is pushing to boost domestic mining on land and at sea while moving to create a U.S.-led trading bloc to rival China and establishing an industry-led $12 billion stockpile. But the effort has drawn the ire of environmental groups and jarred members of the International Seabed Authority, a global authority that’s been struggling for years to craft safeguards.
