US seeking deep-sea miners interested in leasing American Samoa's seabed

By Jayvee Vallejera

The U.S. is soliciting interest from prospective companies to lease American Samoa's seabed for deep-sea mining, amid a petition launched by advocacy groups seeking to halt the plan.

There are only a few days left for the public to comment on the government's plan to have American Samoa’s seabed mined for critical minerals, including nickel, cobalt, copper, magnesium and rare earths.

The U.S. Department of the Interior published a request for information and interest in the Federal Register on June 16, commencing the 30-day public comment period, which ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 16.

The area being considered is near the eastern limit of American Samoa’s outer continental shelf bordering the exclusive economic zone of Cook Islands, northeast of the Manu’a Islands and Rose Atoll (roughly 70 nautical miles northeast of Rose Atoll).

This area spans approximately 18.1 million acres and is situated between 4,600 and 20,000 feet underwater. DOI stated that the area is largely a vast, flat region, with scattered underwater mountains, all located within the outer continental shelf of American Samoa.

The area is reportedly rich in polymetallic nodules that contain critical minerals that are essential for clean energy technologies and national defense.

The Trump administration has also said that mining these resources will reduce the United States’ reliance on foreign supply chains.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already approved one company’s request to begin the leasing process. Impossible Metals first submitted its request on April 8 to lease an area offshore American Samoa. That prompted the BOEM to publish the RFI that kicked off the process.

Impossible Metals intends to explore an underwater area off American Samoa with autonomous underwater vehicles that are designed to harvest polymetallic nodules from the seabed.

According to its website, Impossible Metals will use robotics and AI to hover above the ocean floor and collect the polymetallic nodules while “minimizing” environmental disruption.

It promises to work closely with the local community in American Samoa and other agencies, scientists, and environmental organizations to ensure the long-term protection of the U.S. territory’s underwater resources. It said the RFI will be an opportunity for experts, the community, and the public to provide input and data on its proposal.

DOI stated that the RFI initiates a multi-step planning process, which includes identifying areas for leasing consideration, conducting an environmental analysis, and publishing the proposed leasing notice in the Federal Register.

DOI stated that the feedback they will receive from the public will help inform BOEM’s assessment of industry interest, geologic conditions, potential environmental and cultural impacts, and the multiple uses of the identified area, including navigation and fishing.

The plan has created a furor among environmentalists and indigenous groups, not just in American Samoa, but also in other U.S. territories that are largely surrounded by oceans and whose seabed resources are being eyed by other mining companies.

Advocacy groups, including The Right to Democracy and America the Beautiful for All Coalition, have launched a petition to oppose the mining proposal.

They said the petition, which will be submitted to the BOEM, is backed by residents and diaspora from the five U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  

The petition calls for an immediate halt to unilateral deep-sea mining proposals and expresses strong solidarity with leaders and local communities of American Samoa who oppose this plan that they say threatens their ecosystems, traditions, and right to self-determination.

“Indigenous communities in American Samoa are speaking up and we must stand with them,” said Ahtoy Won-Pat Borja, artist and advocate from Guam.

“Deep-sea mining threatens their communities with the kind of environmental harm whose effects will be felt by generations.”

Adi Martínez-Román, co-director of Right to Democracy, said that territorial communities have always borne the brunt of resource extraction and exploitation, all tied to legacies of colonial rule.

Angelo Villagomez, co-lead for the American the Beautiful for All Coalition, said that people living in the territories need to play a larger role in deciding what takes place in American waters since 30 percent of all U.S. oceans are in the territories.

The petition urges the U.S. federal government to halt all unilateral plans for deep sea mining in American Samoa, commit to listen and heed the voices of people living in U.S. territories.

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