President Donald Trump reportedly signed an executive order on Thursday that seeks to expedite U.S. mining of the ocean floor.
While some companies have promoted the idea, deep sea mining has never been done on a large scale before.
The Hill reported that Trump's order directs the commerce secretary to accelerate permits for commercial undersea exploration and mining and directs the interior secretary to develop a program to enable U.S. coastal mining.
A Trump official told reporters that the administration expects to find valuable minerals, including manganese, cobalt, nickel, and copper, on the seafloor.
Such minerals have a variety of uses, namely in the energy, weapons, and consumer goods sectors. Batteries, for example, can contain elements such as nickel and cobalt, while manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper are used in the manufacture of smartphones, among other things.
China currently controls a substantial share of the world's rare earth minerals supply, and administration officials described the order as beneficial for the economy and national security, according to The Hill.
The potential impacts of deep sea mining have alarmed environmentalists, who say the practice could destroy wildlife habitats and release toxins into the oceans, while creating noise pollution and contributing to a loss of biodiversity.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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