NOAA plans to scour more than 30,000 square nautical miles of waters off American Samoa to figure out the possibilities there for deep sea mining.
The agency announced Thursday the area will be extensively surveyed beginning in February. The project falls under the U.S. Offshore Critical Minerals Mapping Plan, part of a Trump administration executive order for “unleashing” U.S. offshore resources.
A contractor, NV5, will do the survey work, the agency said in a news release. NOAA plans to spend $20 million to create maps and images accessible to the public, along with collecting samples to analyze environmental conditions around the small island chain.
The survey could be a precursor to extracting polymetallic nodules. The potato-sized clumps can hold minerals like manganese, nickle, cobalt, copper and more, which are used to create all manner of technology.
