{
  "id": 19515727,
  "title": "US companies apply to explore deep-sea mining in area bordering Pacific island states",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/us-companies-apply-to-explore-deep-sea-mining-in-area-bordering",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-11T15:29:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/us-companies-apply-to-explore-deep-sea-mining-in-area-bordering-pacific-island-states/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two U.S. corporations, American Deep Sea Minerals, Inc. and American Ocean Minerals Corporation, have applied to the U.S. government for licenses to explore seabed mining in international waters near the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia. The applications come amid a growing trend of U.S. companies seeking to claim rights to the international seabed through a U.S. permitting process that circumvents the United Nations body responsible for regulating deep-sea mining and protecting the marine environment. The two South Pacific areas of interest span a combined 190,709 square kilometers, with plans to extract and sell polymetallic nodules containing valuable minerals. Other U.S. companies are also seeking rights to significant seabed blocks in international waters near Guam and the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast stretch of ocean between Hawai‘i and Mexico, according to a recent Mongabay investigation. Environmental advocates and local government officials are vehemently opposing these applications, arguing that the U.S. process should not be used to rush into deep-sea mining without proper international oversight.",
  "summary": "Two U.S. companies have applied to the U.S. government for seabed mining exploration licenses in two large patches of international waters near the Cook Islands, Kiribati and French Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. Local government officials and environmental organizations are pushing back. The applications are part of a broader move by U.S. companies to […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}