Certain areas of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction are rich in deposits of polymetallic nodules, which contain concentrations of critical minerals important for industrial development such as nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese, as well as sulphide and cobalt crusts. As these minerals become increasingly important for domestic energy security, President Donald J. Trump has moved to revive the deep seabed mining industry, regulated in the United States under the once-dormant Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (“DSHMRA”), which includes polymetallic nodules in its scope, though not sulphide or cobalt crusts. Industry has responded in turn. For example, on December 23, 2025, the federal government announced its receipt of applications from The Metals Company USA, LLC (“TMC”) to conduct exploration activities in international waters. After the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) finalized regulations to consolidate the process for obtaining authorizations for exploration and commercial recovery under DSHMRA into a single application process, TMC announced the following day that it had applied to proceed under this new process. In this article, we provide an update on the regulatory framework for deep seabed mining in the United States as the public comment period for TMC’s applications remains ongoing, explore how applications may be progressing, and provide insights for future applicants.
The US Regulatory Framework for Deep-Sea Mining
Countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”) follow the International Seabed Authority’s (“ISA”) framework for regulating mining on the deep seabed, which we discuss in more detail here. The United States, which has signed but not ratified UNCLOS, had previously developed its own framework to regulate deep seabed mining in the high seas. In 1980, Congress enacted DSHMRA to govern the exploration for and recovery of hard mineral resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction. NOAA, a regulatory agency within the Department of Commerce, is charged with administering DSHMRA. Under DSHMRA, NOAA can issue two types of authorizations related to deep seabed mining — exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits — to U.S. citizens, including companies existing under U.S. laws or in which a U.S. citizen holds a controlling interest. Before NOAA can issue either authorization, it must find that the license or permit:
(1) will not unreasonably interfere with the exercise of the freedoms of the high seas by other states, as recognized under general principles of international law;
(2) will not conflict with any international obligation of the United States established by any treaty or international convention in force with respect to the United States;
(3) will not create a situation which may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of international peace and security involving armed conflict;
(4) cannot reasonably be expected to result in a significant adverse effect on the quality of the environment, taking into account the analyses contained in the required environmental analysis; and
(5) will not pose an inordinate threat to the safety of life and property at sea.
The Deep Sea Revival
DSHMRA’s passage spurred some initial interest in deep-sea mining in the United States, with NOAA issuing four exploration licenses in the early 1980s. However, two of those licenses have since been relinquished, and NOAA has never issued a commercial recovery permit. President Trump seeks to change that. In April 2025, he issued an Executive Order, aiming to revive DSHMRA and encourage mining for critical minerals in areas beyond national jurisdiction, with the goal of increasing domestic energy security by relying less on foreign sources of these minerals. Specifically, the Executive Order directed NOAA to implement an expedited process for reviewing and issuing exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under DSHMRA.
In response, NOAA issued a final rule on January 21, 2026, to give applicants the option to consolidate the license and permit process — a measure of regulatory streamlining NOAA considered when it first issued regulations under DSHMRA in the 1980s but opted to develop at a later date. An exploration license allows a U.S. company to conduct surveys, research, and other testing geared towards the eventual mining of polymetallic nodules in the deep sea. Importantly, submitting a substantially compliant application for a license (under either the sequential or consolidated process) also secures an applicant’s priority of right over a specified area — meaning the applicant has the exclusive right under DSHMRA to explore for and recover mineral resources in that area.
Commercial recovery permits allow U.S. companies to mine for, recover, and process hard mineral resources for commercial use. When processed separately, the permitting process is substantially similar to that for exploration licenses. However, under NOAA’s new consolidated framework, which we discuss in greater detail here, applicants can choose to submit a single application for both a license and a permit, with NOAA potentially conducting a single comprehensive review and issuing separate but simultaneous decisions on the license and permit.
The new consolidated process is poised to offer several benefits to industry. Eligible companies would no longer be required to first conduct exploration activities for a lengthy period before becoming eligible to obtain a commercial recovery permit. The process would also allow NOAA to streamline its environmental review by preparing a single Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) that covers both the license and the permit, which may create a more efficient environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). NOAA will still have discretion over whether to prepare a single EIS (versus preparing successive or supplemental EISs) and whether to issue the license and permit simultaneously.
Companies are already taking advantage of the renewed interest in deep sea mining — and in NOAA’s consolidated process. On December 23, 2025, NOAA publicly noticed its receipt of TMC’s applications for exploration licenses for two areas in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico known for vast deposits of critical minerals. NOAA’s initial receipt of TMC’s applications in April 2025 kicked off initial consultations with relevant federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Transportation. Though NOAA has already been processing TMC’s applications in the background, TMC quickly took advantage of the opportunity for streamlined review, announcing on January 22, 2026, that it had requested consolidated processing.
NOAA’s Next Steps
NOAA held public hearings on TMC’s license applications on January 27 and 28, 2026, and is accepting public comments through February 23, 2026. In addition to considering public input received during this comment period, NOAA will continue to evaluate the technical feasibility, regulatory compliance, and environmental impacts of the applications. The following steps are those NOAA takes after an application reaches full compliance:
(1) Certification. After making its “full compliance” determination, NOAA reviews the application to determine if it can “certify” that the applicant has the scientific, financial, and technical resources to engage in the proposed exploration activities (and if it is for a consolidated application, then also for commercial recovery). NOAA states that it endeavors to complete its certification review within 100 days following its decision that an application is in full compliance. During this review process, NOAA continues to consult with federal agencies and to advance the environmental review process. NOAA will likely seek input on conditions that should be incorporated into the license or permit, such as those to minimize or mitigate environmental effects and interference with fishing activities, underwater internet cables, or defense operations.
(2) Draft EIS and Proposed Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions. Within 180 days of certifying an application, NOAA will publish draft terms, conditions, and restrictions (“TCRs”) for the proposed commercial recovery or exploration activities. We anticipate that NOAA will release these TCRs in combination with a draft EIS evaluating the environmental impacts of NOAA issuing the license or permit. While the TCRs will reflect NOAA’s findings from consultations with federal agencies, NOAA has said that it anticipates that TCRs will be uniform across all licenses and permits except to the extent necessary to account for different physical and environmental conditions, conservation matters, or safety concerns.
(3) Additional Rounds of Public Notice and Comment. The public will have another opportunity to provide review and comment after the draft EIS and proposed TCRs are published. NOAA’s regulations require a comment period of at least 60 days and a mandatory public hearing.
(4) Conclusion of Consultations. Following the draft EIS comment period, NOAA will reconvene to consider comments and wrap up consultations with federal agencies. At this stage, NOAA will complete consultations that focus on ensuring that exploration or commercial recovery activities will comply with the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. For instance, we expect that NOAA will consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act to assess the impacts of exploration and recovery activities — like noise and vibration from testing, sediment disruption and dispersal from machinery, and increased ship activity — on protected species. NOAA must also determine that the proposed activities will not unreasonably interfere with the exercise of the freedoms of the high seas by other nations. Any additional TCRs necessary to prevent significant adverse impacts to the environment or to ensure compliance with these laws would be required as part of any issued exploration license or commercial recovery permit.
(5) Final EIS. NOAA has 180 days after publishing the draft EIS to publish a final EIS incorporating public comments and feedback from other federal and state agencies (though this deadline may be extended for “good cause shown in writing”).
NOAA’s environmental review of both TMC’s exploration license and consolidated application is likely to be heavily based on the environmental baseline data included within these applications. While TMC’s applications are the first that NOAA is considering in this recent wave of activity in U.S.-regulated deep seabed mining, some of TMC’s subsidiaries have already been involved in exploration under contracts issued by the ISA. TMC has included data collected under these contracts with its applications, and some areas TMC has included in its application overlap heavily with the areas under ISA contracts. TMC has already collected significant environmental baseline data to characterize these sites, and it has already conducted test mining and follow-up monitoring to evaluate the environmental performance of its mining prototype system and the seabed’s recovery after test mining. NOAA has reiterated that an applicant with a substantial amount of information from prior exploration activities and existing development and testing of new deep-sea mining-relevant technology is precisely the type of applicant NOAA had in mind when developing the consolidated application process. While TMC’s prior efforts provide a starting point, it remains to be seen how NOAA will go about completing its environmental review and related consultations, and whether NOAA will ultimately decide to issue a single EIS for this first consolidated application.
We will continue to monitor developments affecting deep seabed mining.
