In a move to bolster the United States’ access to critical minerals, NOAA’s National Ocean Service has announced a new hydrographic survey project to map and characterize over 30,000 square nautical miles of federal waters off American Samoa. This initiative is part of the U.S. Offshore Critical Minerals Mapping Plan, as outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order 14285, aimed at unleashing America’s offshore critical minerals and resources.
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The project, which is set to commence in February 2026, will be conducted by NOAA contractor NV5, a leading hydrographic survey services vendor. With approximately $20 million in funding from fiscal year 2025, NOAA aims to produce publicly accessible maps, images, and samples of the marine environment in the region. These resources will provide valuable insights into critical mineral deposits and the prospectivity of the surveyed area, benefiting NOAA, federal agencies, and other interested parties.
Deep seabed mining, the extraction of nodules containing essential minerals from the ocean floor, holds significant promise for accessing valuable resources like manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements. These critical minerals are integral to various industries, from defense systems and batteries to smartphones and medical devices, underscoring their importance in U.S. manufacturing and supply chains’ resilience.
By enhancing the understanding of the deep-ocean environment off American Samoa, this mapping project will not only support sustainable deep-sea mining practices but also stimulate further exploration, research, and management initiatives related to deep-sea minerals. The data generated through this effort will contribute to increasing the baseline knowledge of the region’s marine resources, paving the way for informed decision-making and future developments in mineral exploration and extraction.
The mapping of critical mineral deposits in deep waters off American Samoa represents a strategic step towards securing a stable supply of essential minerals for domestic industries. As the global demand for these resources continues to rise, initiatives like this play a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability and resilience of U.S. supply chains.
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References:
NOAA. (2026, January 22). NOAA to map critical mineral deposits in deep waters off American Samoa. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-to-map-critical-mineral-deposits-in-deep-waters-off-american-samoa
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