NOAA Rewrites the Rules on Deep-Sea Mining

The US has overhauled its deep-sea mining rules, streamlining permits for seabed minerals as global regulations lag behind

12 Mar 2026

The ocean floor is rich with minerals the modern world can't get enough of. The United States wants to get there faster.

Federal regulators finalized sweeping changes to deep-sea mining rules in January 2026, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revising its framework under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. The most significant shift: companies can now apply for exploration licenses and commercial mining permits at the same time, scrapping a sequential process that had stretched timelines unnecessarily.

The targets are polymetallic nodules, lumpy potato-sized formations scattered across the ocean floor and packed with manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper. These are the building blocks of EV batteries, renewable energy infrastructure, and advanced electronics, and demand is only climbing.

NOAA's overhaul also consolidates environmental review. Instead of separate studies for exploration and extraction, regulators can now run a single environmental impact assessment covering both phases. Officials argue this cuts delays without weakening oversight, though critics aren't so sure.

Environmental groups have raised alarms. Scientists warn that the deep ocean floor hosts fragile, poorly understood ecosystems, and that industrial disturbance could cause damage that takes centuries to reverse. The unknowns, they argue, are exactly why caution matters.

The timing adds another layer of complexity. The International Seabed Authority is still negotiating a global mining code to govern extraction in international waters, and no final framework has been adopted. The US is effectively accelerating domestically while the international rulebook remains unfinished.

That tension is hard to ignore. Washington is signaling urgency over critical mineral supply chains, driven by intensifying competition with China and growing demand from the energy transition. Moving quickly has strategic logic. But the deep ocean, largely unexplored and quietly vital, may be less forgiving of haste than policymakers hope.