admin A month after signing an executive order to initiate ocean-floor mining, the Trump administration is preparing to sell the rights to exploit deposits off the coast of American Samoa. It justifies this by citing the urgent demand for critical metals to power electric vehicles (EVs) and other advanced technologies. Trump’s announcement comes amidst growing concerns over the environmental and biological impacts of ocean-floor mining, most recently by Jones et al. (2025). Additionally, a new analysis by Alger et al. (2025) challenges the economic and social need for ocean mining to secure these critical metals. HAVE YOUR SAY! Alger et al. (2025) https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-025-00127-4 Jones et al. (2025) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08921-3
admin There are plenty of locations around the world that are less environmentally and socially sensitive to mining, where the impacts can be more easily managed, such as desert regions in the US or Australia.
Seashell We need critical metals, but the ocean floor should be one of the last places we mine - its obvious - its just far too sensitive!
