The Trump administration is taking a step toward potentially allowing companies to trawl for minerals under the ocean floor off the coast of American Samoa.
The Interior Department announced late Tuesday that it would start the process to assess whether it should auction off rights to allow companies to mine American Samoa’s seabed.
American Samoa is a U.S. territory made up of islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
The Interior Department said it would begin with a formal “request for information and interest” to seek input from the mining industry as well as the Indigenous island community and others about whether it should proceed.
“Critical minerals are fundamental to strengthening our nation's resilience and safeguarding our national interests,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
"By providing opportunities to responsibly access deep-sea mineral resources, we are supporting both American economic growth and national security,” he added.
The announcement comes a month after President Trump signed an executive order directing the administration to jumpstart the deep sea mining process.
Large-scale deep sea mining has never been done — though some companies have pushed for it — but the seafloor is expected to contain valuable materials.
However, environmental concerns have been raised about potential mining, as critics argue it could release toxins, destroy habitats and contribute to biodiversity loss and noise pollution.
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