"As federal authorities work to issue permits for mining in and beyond US waters, industry officials are making plans to build infrastructure the country lacks to process what’s recovered from the ocean floor.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told a gathering of G20 energy ministers recently the US was months away from issuing its first deep-sea mining permits. Despite that timeline, the US has yet to figure out how it will refine the mineral-rich rocks, called polymetallic nodules, for use in technology ranging from electric-vehicle batteries, defense systems, smartphones, and medical equipment.
“A big part of any new mineral source, particularly seabed mining, is processing the resources,” said Tom LaTourrette, senior physical scientist at the global-policy think tank Rand Corporation. “All the mining in the world is not going to help us if you don’t have processing capacity.”
The gap underscores a challenge underlying the Trump administration’s drive to counter the critical-minerals supply chains dominated by China, which controls roughly 90% of global processing capacity."
Benjamin Hernandez reports for Bloomberg Environment September 30, 2026.
