The Trump administration’s US agency overseeing deep-sea mining proposes auctioning large areas of seabed off the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, prompting public opposition from Pacific US territories. The Marine Mineral Administration (MMA), under the US Department of the Interior, releases a plan to lease millions of hectares of seafloor for deep-sea exploration near the Mariana Trench.
The proposal would auction leases covering 28 million hectares (about 69 million acres) off the coasts of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The move is framed by the administration in the context of competition for ocean minerals, including a perceived race with China for access to critical resources.
Across reporting, the core dispute centers on concerns from the territories about environmental risk and local impacts from potential mining activities. While the MMA advances a leasing and exploration approach, the territories argue the plan could affect marine ecosystems and regions they consider directly exposed, even as US policymakers seek to expand access to deep-sea mineral resources.
