Interior Highlights Critical Mineral Prospectivity on the Seafloor
USGS factsheet shows potential in the nation’s seabed, an area larger than U.S. lands
The Interior Department highlighted USGS seafloor mineral science and a new factsheet on the potential for critical minerals on the global seafloor.
USGS Seafloor Mineral Science
The Interior Department highlighted USGS seafloor mineral science and a new factsheet on critical minerals on the global seafloor. Seabed minerals are a potential future source of many critical minerals needed for the U.S. economy and national security, and occur in every ocean basin, including within the U.S. seafloor (black outlines in the map), which is larger than the land area of the United States.
From the press release:
“USGS science predicts and scientists work with partners to locate resources the nation needs. We then provide the mineral, ecosystem and hazard science around these potential resources. We have more to do to help fill in the details of these maps,” said Amy Gartman, lead of the USGS Global Seabed Minerals Resources Project.
“USGS science is extending our understanding of where critical minerals may be found, such as mineral formations in the Escanaba Trough deep under the Pacific,” said Sarah Ryker, acting director of the USGS. “USGS research and mapping of seabed minerals and the environments in which they are found complements our work on land-based minerals and supply chains.”