The United States plans to auction the deep-sea mineral rights of the Northern Mariana Islands.

According to Mining.com, citing Reuters, the US Interior Department proposed on Monday to auction the deep-sea mineral rights in the waters around the Northern Mariana Islands this year, which is the latest move by US President Trump to expand the supply of key minerals in China.

The Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) proposed to auction 67 million acres of seabed mineral rights on the east and west sides of this Pacific territory.

The auction will be held in California on December 16, 2026, and the lease will be awarded through the bidding process.

These leases will enable enterprises to explore and possibly develop key minerals for batteries, electronic products and national defense technology.

Matt Giacona, executive director of MMA, said the proposal was aimed at supporting the United States to obtain minerals needed for supply chain, manufacturing and national security.

MMA said in the notice of this auction proposal that before deciding whether to advance, it will first listen to the opinions of the federal governor of the Northern Mariana Islands.

A spokesman for Governor David Apatang was not immediately available for comment. In his comments to the government in January, Apatang said that he neither supports nor opposes deep-sea mining, and everything depends on its impact on the environment.

Last month, the Trump administration proposed to lease more than 31 million acres of seabed near American Samoa for deep-sea mining, which is one of many measures to reduce the dependence of the United States on foreign key minerals.

Environmental organizations oppose deep-sea mining, arguing that its impact on marine ecosystems needs further study. Supporters say that mining can provide new mineral sources for electric vehicles, electronic products and military equipment.

source:https://geoglobal.mnr.gov.cn/