Trump Administration Eyes Ocean Floor as Source for Strategic Mineral Reserves

In a significant move to challenge China’s dominance in critical materials, President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order that would establish a strategic stockpile of minerals harvested from the Pacific Ocean seabed, according to a report published Saturday by the Financial Times.

This initiative represents a bold push into a largely untapped frontier of resource extraction, targeting polymetallic nodules that form naturally on the ocean floor. These nodules represent a potentially game-changing source of vital materials, containing substantial deposits of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese—all crucial components for battery production. Additionally, these formations contain traces of rare earth elements, a group of 17 specialized minerals essential for manufacturing advanced technology applications ranging from smartphones to defense systems.

The China Challenge

The strategic importance of this executive order becomes clear when viewed through the lens of current global mineral supply chains. China maintains an overwhelming position in the rare earth mineral market, producing approximately 70% of the world’s supply according to estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. Even more concerning from a national security perspective, China controls roughly 90% of the world’s processing capacity for these minerals, creating a potential chokepoint for numerous high-tech industries.

China has also established itself as a global leader in the processing of various battery metals, another sector critical to emerging technologies like electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems.

This dependence on a strategic competitor has created vulnerability that the Trump administration appears determined to address. According to sources cited by the Financial Times, the executive order would enable the U.S. government to build a “strategic reserve” of these critical minerals, modeling the approach on long-established reserves for other strategic resources like gold and petroleum.

The plan aims to “create large quantities ready and available on US territory to be used in the future” as a contingency measure, particularly in scenarios where conflict with China might disrupt the normal flow of these essential materials into American supply chains, according to the Financial Times sources.

Recent Tensions Highlight Vulnerabilities

The timing of this policy development coincides with escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, tensions that have already demonstrated the strategic implications of China’s mineral dominance. In recent months, China has leveraged its position in the supply chain by implementing export restrictions on certain rare earth minerals, signaling the potential weaponization of these resources in broader geopolitical disputes.

This reality has accelerated concerns about supply chain security across various U.S. government agencies and within industries dependent on these materials. The proposed stockpile represents a concrete step toward insulating critical American industries from potential supply disruptions.

Broader Policy Initiative

The stockpiling proposal appears to be just one component of a more comprehensive strategy to reshape America’s approach to critical mineral access. According to the Financial Times report, the administration’s plan includes measures to expedite deep-sea mining applications under U.S. law and initiatives to develop domestic processing capabilities for these materials.

This aligns with a separate report published earlier this month by Reuters, which indicated that the Trump administration is considering another executive order that would accelerate seabed mining activities by creating a more direct permitting pathway. This order would reportedly allow companies to bypass traditional international authorities backed by the United Nations and instead apply directly to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for mining permits.

This potential regulatory change would represent a significant departure from established international protocols for deep-sea resource extraction and could substantially accelerate America’s entry into this emerging field.

An Emerging Global Race

The United States is not alone in recognizing the strategic potential of ocean floor minerals. China has also demonstrated serious interest in seabed mining and, according to various reports, is positioning itself to lead what some observers have characterized as a “race to the bottom” – a competition to extract valuable resources from ever-greater ocean depths.

This parallel development of Chinese capabilities in deep-sea mining adds urgency to the American initiative, as both nations appear to be pursuing similar strategies to secure critical mineral supplies from non-traditional sources.

Complementary Onshore Strategy

The proposed ocean-focused initiative builds upon earlier efforts by the Trump administration to strengthen America’s position in critical minerals. Just last month, the president signed an executive order activating the Defense Production Act specifically to boost domestic mining and processing of critical minerals.

That order aimed to reduce American dependence on foreign sources—particularly China—by incentivizing development of domestic resources and processing capabilities. The new seabed mining initiative would complement this approach by adding an entirely new source of these materials to America’s strategic portfolio.

Environmental and Diplomatic Considerations

While not addressed directly in the initial reporting, any major push into deep-sea mining would necessarily involve complex environmental and diplomatic considerations. The ocean floor remains one of Earth’s least explored environments, with unique ecosystems that could be impacted by large-scale mining operations.

Additionally, questions of sovereignty and resource rights in international waters have been governed by multilateral agreements and institutions, particularly the International Seabed Authority established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Any unilateral American approach would likely generate significant international discussion about appropriate governance for these shared resources.

Strategic Implications

If implemented, this executive order would mark a significant evolution in how the United States approaches resource security for critical minerals. By extending strategic reserves beyond traditional commodities like petroleum and precious metals to include rare earths and battery metals, the administration would be acknowledging the changing nature of what constitutes strategic resources in the 21st century economy.

The initiative also signals growing awareness of deep-sea resources as a frontier for addressing supply challenges in critical materials. While terrestrial mining will remain the primary source of these materials in the near term, development of seabed mining capabilities could substantially alter global supply dynamics in the coming decades.

For industries dependent on these materials—including renewable energy, electric vehicles, electronics, and defense—the potential development of alternative supply chains outside of Chinese control could provide greater stability and pricing predictability in the long term.

The proposed executive order represents a concrete step toward reducing what many security experts have identified as a strategic vulnerability in America’s industrial base, while simultaneously positioning the United States to compete in an emerging domain of resource development that could reshape global mineral supply chains in the decades ahead.

Acknowledgment: This article was written with the help of AI, which also assisted in research, drafting, editing, and formatting this current version.