The Aquatic Frontier
The United States is about to embark on a journey to locate and procure the critical minerals that fuel our technology and defense systems. By enhancing the supply chains of the U.S., we reduce the need to rely on rival countries such as China.
In early April, the NOAA Ship Rainier will begin surveying more than 8,000 square nautical miles of federal waters around Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. The objective is simple: scientists will chart the seafloor in the hopes of finding areas where vital minerals might be present. The process will create detailed images of the seafloor, along with geological information and environmental samples that can be used to determine if these waters contain strategic minerals vital to the U.S. economy.
Those resources are now more important than ever. Critical minerals like manganese, nickel, cobalt, and copper are the building blocks of modern technology. These minerals are employed in the latest and greatest batteries, electronics, communication devices, and military equipment. If the US is not properly supplied with these minerals, it will be falling behind in industries that will shape the world and determine the balance of power. China has been working very hard to control the world supply of these resources, and has invested heavily in other countries to control a large percentage of the world’s stockpiles.
China’s mineral control poses a major problem for the US. If an adversary commands the supply of critical minerals, it will dominate economically and usurp American economic supremacy.
The mapping of America’s own offshore resources is a direct response to this challenge. There are significant deposits on the seabed containing polymetallic nodules and other minerals that contain many of the necessary elements for modern manufacturing. Some of these deposits are thousands of feet below the ocean's surface and are scattered across the remote areas of the Pacific Ocean. Until these are mapped and studied, the U.S. cannot fully understand what resources are available within its own territory.
The work of the Rainier is all part of a broader national strategy to do just that. The federal initiatives are now focused on mapping offshore mineral resources, streamlining permitting for exploration, and laying the groundwork for scientifically informed development. These surveys will yield publicly available data to inform future policy decisions and for industry to assess areas for exploration.
Such groundwork may not make the front pages, but it is vitally important. Before a single ton of minerals is extracted, policymakers and engineers must have a good grasp of the terrain that lies out of sight. An accurate map of the seabed will show where resources exist, how concentrated those minerals are, and what the environmental conditions are like. Without this information, any attempts to tap domestic mineral resources will be purely guesswork.
There is also a strategic value to this beyond the minerals themselves. Expanding government knowledge of the Pacific seafloor enhances the country’s presence in an area where military strategy is a growing concern. Scientific expeditions contribute to American maritime knowledge, to cooperation with Pacific territories, and to the nation’s dominance over waters that fall under its jurisdiction.
Every smartphone, satellite, electric car, and high-tech weapons system relies on critical minerals that have to come from somewhere. And if the United States wants to remain competitive in the years to come, it cannot leave those resources entirely in foreign hands.
The Rainier survey is a first step toward regaining that competitive edge. Charting the ocean floor now means controlling the supply chains of the future.