Deep-sea mining startup American Metal said on Friday that US regulators have certified its application for a licence to explore for critical minerals in the Pacific Ocean, marking the next step in its bid to mine the seabed.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration certified two applications from American Metal's subsidiaries, SeaX and American Metal Resources, to explore 104,000 square miles (270,000 square kilometres) in part of the Pacific in international waters known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or CCZ.
The seafloor, especially in parts of the Pacific, is covered by potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules that are filled with nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.
NOAA will now complete an environmental study as a necessary next step for American Metal to obtain the exploration licences. That process could involve a public hearing and may not be finalised until next year.
The exploration licence would allow the company to study the CCZ and determine where it would like to apply to commercially mine nodules.
The company had the option of simultaneously applying for exploration and commercial mining permits, but opted not to take that step as it does not yet have adequate seabed data.
American Metal CEO David Ruddell said his goal is to obtain a commercial mining permit within three years.
US President Donald Trump is using a 1980 law to issue international seabed mining permits, setting up a clash with the United Nations-affiliated International Seabed Authority.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Will Dunham)
