US Announces First Offshore Mining Lease, off Coast of American Samoa

The U.S. government has announced details of an auction for the first license to mine critical minerals offshore—off the coast of American Samoa—despite objections from environmental activists who fear the noise and pollution will affect marine wildlife.

The Marine Minerals Administration (MMA), which is part of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), announced on Monday that a final notice for an Outer Continental Shelf minerals lease is available.

Acting MMA Director Mike Olsen said it was being guided by science, environmental review, and meaningful engagement with the people of American Samoa.

Critical Minerals ‘No Longer Just Commodities’

“Critical minerals are no longer just commodities; they are a vital strategic asset in global competition, essential for reaching our energy efficiency goals, strengthening our national defense, and securing domestic supply chains,” Olsen said.

“MMA recognizes the ocean floor surrounding American Samoa carries cultural, economic, and environmental significance, requiring that the pursuit of National Security and energy readiness is balanced with rigorous environmental stewardship.”

The Pacific American Samoa OCS Mineral Lease Sale 1 (PACM-1) covers two separate ocean areas—OCS-P 0568, which is 16.3 million acres to the northeast of American Samoa and Rose Atoll, and OCS-P 0589, which is 15.1 million acres to the southeast. OCS stands for Outer Continental Shelf.

The notice for PACM-1 is scheduled to go on public display in the Federal Register on Tuesday, with an auction taking place on Nov. 19.

In August, President Donald Trump announced the United States would invest nearly $3 billion to support critical minerals and battery projects and expand the American mining workforce.

“We’re putting our miners back to work, and we’re reclaiming America’s rightful place as the minerals superpower of the world,” Trump said.

MMA said that whoever won the American Samoa bidding auction and secured the lease would not be immediately authorized to harvest deep-sea minerals.

“It only authorizes preliminary activities like mapping,” MMA said.

“MMA will manage a multi-stage post-auction regulatory process before a company can begin physical exploration, testing, or full-scale commercial harvesting.”

Activists Filed Federal Lawsuit

In August, environmental activists filed a federal lawsuit against the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service over their plans to allow offshore mining near American Samoa.

Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of two groups: Fa‘asao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i.

The legal nonprofit is requesting that a judge order the National Marine Fisheries Service to comply with the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws and block the mining project.

“The United States has never opened its waters to deep-sea mining. Until now,” says the lawsuit.

It goes on to say that before the MMA sells the lease of 31 million acres of seabed off American Samoa, it is obliged, under the Endangered Species Act, to consult to ensure that deep-sea mining will not push any endangered or threatened species closer to extinction, or destroy their critical habitats.

“Deep-sea mining entails using heavy machinery to scour the seabed for potato-sized mineral aggregations called polymetallic nodules or, in some cases, to strip mine mineral-laden crusts from the sea floor,” the lawsuit says.

“Even just exploring for seabed minerals introduces extremely loud noise into the marine environment that can harm marine mammals and other wildlife.”

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—which was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994—declares the seabed and ocean floor, and the subsoil, to be beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

The United States is not a party to UNCLOS.

Tutuila Island and several smaller islands were ceded to the United States in 1900 and came to be known as American Samoa a few years later.

In 1986, the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated Fagatele Bay, on the southwestern coast of Tutuila Island, a National Marine Sanctuary.