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OPINION:
China controls the critical minerals that underpin America’s economy, including materials used in missiles, microchips, electric vehicles and data centers.
Without reliable access to these minerals, manufacturing will stall and our technological edge will disappear.
The United States imports almost all these minerals from China. To break this monopoly and secure America’s future, we must broaden our search for these essential resources to a frontier few Americans have considered: the deep seabeds.
Polymetallic, mineral-rich nodules on the ocean floor containing nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and other rare earth elements are a potentially massive, untapped reserve that can reduce our strategic vulnerability.
Harvesting from the sea floor is the most environmentally sustainable way to obtain the minerals we need. These nodules can be harvested using specialized, deep-sea vessels. Seabed nodules sit exposed on the ocean floor, allowing collection without significant disruption.
Further, if it is economical, we have an obligation to access these resources responsibly because too much is at stake.
Researchers estimate that billions of tons of critical metals are in these nodules and that effective deep-sea extraction could diversify global production and help alleviate supply chain bottlenecks.
That’s welcome news. According to the latest data, the U.S. imports 80% of the rare earth elements it uses, while China controls 90% of global mineral processing. The United States needs as many alternatives as possible to end its reliance on Chinese supply.
Unfortunately, China already has a head start in dominating deep-sea mining for these reserves, securing exclusive rights to mineral-rich territories and deploying deep-sea vessels to plunge into the depths.
America must catch up because the race is officially on. At the beginning of February, a deep-sea drilling vessel from Japan successfully retrieved the first-ever rare earth samples from the depths of the ocean, demonstrating that accessing these resources is indeed possible.
The United States is lucky it was our ally that achieved this remarkable feat, not China. To regain control of the critical mineral marketplace, America must become the leader on the ocean floor.
The Cook Islands, halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, present a particularly fruitful opportunity. The Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority formalized a strategic cooperation framework with the United States to coordinate research, geological mapping and responsible development of seabed minerals.
This is exactly the kind of partnership model the U.S. should replicate across the Pacific and beyond.
Now, the U.S. should move aggressively to secure even more rights in the world’s oceans and to deploy our own deep-sea probes.
The administration is already on the right track. Last year, the president signed an executive order to accelerate permitting, science-based reviews and exploration of offshore critical minerals, declaring that America intended to reinvigorate its leadership in extraction and processing technologies.
China is moving fast, and America has a narrowing window to turn this rhetoric into reality. American technological advances unlocked the power of the atom in nuclear energy, opened a wealth of shale oil and gas through fracking and put men on the moon. There is no reason our scientists and engineers can’t develop effective ways to access the abundance of the ocean floors if given access and the permitting and regulatory certainty.
Congress and the executive branch must ensure market incentives are aligned to attract private capital, spur innovation and scale capabilities in seabed collection, processing and refining while protecting marine ecosystems. This includes loan guarantees to unlock capital, public-private partnerships to scale technology and fast-track permits to get projects moving.
Yet, as we do, we must remember that deep-sea critical minerals should be only one part of our strategy. The White House recently launched a strategic critical mineral reserve, Project Vault, committing $12 billion in seed funding to stockpile minerals. The initiative is backed by major companies such as General Motors, Lockheed Martin and Google.
At almost the same time, the State Department led a Critical Minerals Ministerial in early February that brought together more than 50 allies to discuss coordinated pricing mechanisms and trading frameworks aimed at countering China’s dominance in processing and strategic manipulation of exports.
At the meeting, Vice President J.D. Vance proposed a preferential trade bloc to set price floors and stabilize markets, a vivid acknowledgment that global cooperation is now a strategic necessity.
Meanwhile, the administration secured agreements with multiple nations to expand access to critical minerals. It signed a multibillion-dollar deal to resurrect the only domestic critical mineral mine, Mountain Pass.
Every single one of these initiatives, and more, will be necessary to break our dependence on China.
The minerals that will power America’s economy, safeguard its security and end reliance on China are no longer just in mountains and mines; they are also waiting under the sea.
• Drew Bond is the co-founder and executive chairman of C3 Solutions.
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