The Metals Company applies to mine the High Seas

The request, made to the Trump administration, is sure to escalate a feud over who controls mining beyond national jurisdiction

The Metals Company this morning announced it has applied to the Trump administration to commercially mine in the Clarion Clipperton Zone beyond national jurisdiction.

The move comes days after Trump signed an executive order to jump-start the deep-sea mining industry — including the fast-tracking of permit reviews like this one — and just moments before CEO Gerard Barron was set to testify before the House Natural Resources Committee.

The Metals Company’s application will be the first ever reviewed by NOAA. The firm also announced it had applied for two exploration licenses in the Clarion Clipperton Zone.

Dozens of countries condemned the move before it was even announced officially. The ISA maintains that it’s the only legitimate regulator of mining on the High Seas. Last week, China said U.S. authorization of mining would be illegal under international law. Many countries made similar remarks at the ISA Council meeting last month in Kingston, Jamaica. (The U.S. is one of the few countries that hasn’t become a member of the ISA since it hasn’t ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.)

Despite the international blowback, the industry is trying to strike when the iron is hot — i.e. when the U.S. government is stocked with supporters of seabed mining. Companies believe the Trump administration will offer a smoother regulatory pathway than the ISA, which is still working out its exploitation regulations.

We’re sure to get much more reaction about all this in the days to come, including at today’s House hearing. For now, suffice it to say that both industry and the Trump administration are moving fast on deep-sea mining. That goes for the High Seas and, potentially, America’s own federal waters too.