Deep-sea mining firm The Metals Co asked the Trump administration on Tuesday to approve its plans to mine the international seabed, making it the first such company to seek the government's permission
Deep-sea mining firm The Metals Co asked the Trump administration on Tuesday to approve its plans to mine the international seabed, making it the first such company to seek the government's permission to operate outside U.S. territorial waters.
Last week President Donald Trump signed an order aiming to jumpstart mining in both domestic and international waters in an attempt to boost U.S. access to critical minerals and reduce China's market control.
The move ratchets up tension between Washington and the United Nations-backed International Seabed Authority, which has been crafting mining standards for more than a decade, while China objected to the order as a violation of international law.
Parts of the world's oceans are estimated to contain large amounts of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with the building blocks for electric vehicles and electronics.
Supporters of deep-sea mining say it would lessen the need for large mining operations on land, which are often unpopular with host communities.
Environmental groups are calling for the activity to be banned, warning that industrial operations on the ocean floor could cause irreversible biodiversity loss.
Any country can allow deep-sea mining in its own territorial waters, roughly up to 200 nautical miles from
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