Uncertainties Surround Future of U.S. Ocean Mining

GAO reported on the federal government's involvement in ocean mining and examined efforts to further develop U.S. ocean mining to provide access to seabed resources as a desirable supply source. The United States rejected the U.N.-backed Law of the Sea Treaty, hoping to provide a more adequate framework by which to ensure access to the strategic mineral resources of ocean seabeds. GAO found that, although the President designated a council to coordinate a national materials policy, no such policy has yet emerged. The current focus of government activity is directed toward negotiation of a reciprocating agreement with other industrialized countries. GAO believes that negotiating an alternative arrangement to the Treaty will not, in itself, ensure the development of ocean mining as an alternative source for critical materials. Further, the current uncertainties regarding U.S. ocean mining require the government to make more comprehensive vulnerability assessments to better gauge how extensively ocean mining should be promoted and how to effectively formulate financially oriented policies to aid private industry.

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