Trump looks to quickly develop deep-sea mineral extraction

• But environmentalists and many scientists fear that commercial-scale harvesting will proceed before there's enough understanding of the ecological risks and effects.

Driving the news: Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that aims to quickly develop U.S. capabilities to harvest and process minerals in domestic and international waters.

• It tells the Commerce secretary expedite the process for reviewing and issuing exploration and commercial recovery permits.
• It also calls on the Interior Department to develop a permitting process for projects in U.S. waters (called the Outer Continental Shelf).

Zoom in: A senior administration official said the Trump team estimates there are over 1 billion metric tons of deep-sea nodules available that could create many jobs and bring in over $300 billion in additional GDP over 10 years.

• The order also directs leaders of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to explore ways to support seabed mining.

• That mirrors proposals from Trump's other EO on domestic onshore mining.

What we're watching: The Metals Company last month said it's seeking federal permits from Trump officials for commercial deep-sea mineral extraction in international waters.

• The Canada-based company said it has already met with with officials in the White House and the U.S. Congress.
• They had also been seeking support from the Biden administration.

Yes, but: The UN-affliated International Seabed Authority has not yet completed long-delayed rules for governing seabed mineral extraction in international waters.