US accelerates permitting timeline for deep seabed mining
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will streamline exploration license and commercial recovery permitting.
Polymetallic nodules, such as those shown here, can occur on the ocean floor and are of interest for the critical minerals they contain
© NOAAThese revisions will happen under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA). They establish a consolidated DSHMRA exploration license and commercial recovery permit application process,
Since the passage of DSHMRA by Congress in 1980, US citizens have been required to follow a two-step, sequential process in which applicants must first obtain an exploration license to undertake deep seabed mining exploration activities and separately apply for a recovery permit from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before conducting commercial recovery activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
'Deep seabed mining is key to unlocking a domestic source of critical minerals for the United States,' says Neil Jacobs, NOAA administrator. 'This consolidation modernises the law and supports the America First agenda by enabling US companies to access these resources more quickly, strengthening our nation’s economic resilience and advancing the discovery and use of critical seafloor minerals.'
In related news, the NOAA will map critical mineral deposits in deep waters off American Samoa. A new hydrographic survey project will map and characterise more than 30,000 square nautical miles of federal waters.
For more like this
