The Trump administration has taken another step toward launching a U.S. offshore critical minerals industry, with the newly created Marine Minerals Administration (MMA) releasing a proposed leasing notice that could pave the way for the first offshore critical minerals lease sale under the new agency.
The proposed lease sale is expected to cover areas in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, where companies can bid on the rights to explore and extract critical minerals such as rare earth elements, lithium, and cobalt. The MMA has stated that the lease sale will be held in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), ensuring that environmental and social impacts are carefully considered.