Trump administration weighs mining off Alaska’s coast

Trump Administration declares pristine Alaskan seafloor “open for business,” mocks environmental safeguards

Trump Administration officials used the Offshore Critical Minerals Exploration & Development Forum to push forward seabed mining in U.S. waters, announcing steps that could pave the way for the first mining operation on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf while openly dismissing environmental safeguards. In response, John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director, said: “Trump is as much of a menace to our oceans as he is to our communities.…

U.S. Interior Department agency solicits interest in seafloor mining off Alaska

Cloud patterns and the midnight sun reflect on the surface of the Chukchi Sea on July 10, 2021. The U.S. Outer Continental Shelf extends over much of the Chukchi Sea. The Trump administration is floating the idea of seafloor mining in Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf. (Photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)The Trump administration is floating the idea of mining the seafloor off Alaska’s coast. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s…

Trump administration weighs mining off Alaska’s coast

The Trump administration is considering mining off Alaska’s coast, which has never been done before. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), part of the Interior Department, announced Tuesday that it would issue a Request for Information to gauge corporate interest and collect public input on the idea. It said that the request is not…

BOEM RFI will gauge interest in Alaska offshore minerals

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is to publish a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) to evaluate industry interest and gather public input that could inform a potential lease sale for minerals on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Alaska. The request is an early step in BOEM’s competitive leasing process and is not a decision to hold a sale. “Alaska’s offshore holds strategic potential for the minerals that drive Ame…