What are offshore critical minerals?
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) evaluates and determines the list of critical minerals that are essential to the U.S. economy and national security. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is working closely with USGS to advance the understanding and assessment of critical minerals in the Pacific.
Seabed minerals are naturally occurring resources found on the ocean floor. These include polymetallic nodules, sulfide deposits, and cobalt crusts, which contain critical minerals like nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, and rare earth elements. Offshore critical minerals are playing a pivotal role in supporting the U.S. economy and national security.
Key minerals are vital for manufacturing a wide range of products, including consumer electronics, energy systems, healthcare equipment, and defense technologies. With increasing demand and potential supply chain disruptions, understanding and securing these resources is more crucial than ever.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Role on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
BOEM manages the leasing and development of U.S. OCS energy, mineral and geological resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. BOEM’s Pacific regional office executes the day-to-day oversight activities for managing these resources in federal waters offshore the U.S. West Coast, Hawai’i and Pacific U.S. Territories. This BOEM-managed geographical area is defined as the Pacific OCS.
In the Pacific, where many critical minerals are found, BOEM is actively involved in exploring and assessing potential density locations of seabed minerals in the Pacific OCS. Here’s how we are making an impact with our key federal partners:
National Offshore Critical Minerals Inventory (NOCMI): BOEM is developing a NOCMI, collaborating with partners like USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This initiative focuses on identifying and assessing mineral deposits in the Pacific OCS and surrounding U.S. Territories.
Ensuring Supply Chain Resilience: By preparing for domestic production of critical minerals in the federal waters of the Pacific, BOEM helps bolster a stable supply chain that is vital for economic stability and national security.
Strategic Reserve Development: Documenting the location and abundance of offshore critical minerals is essential for BOEM’s efforts to establish a strategic reserve that can support the nation’s advanced economy and technological needs.
It is important to note that BOEM does not have oversight authority for mineral leasing and development outside the U.S. OCS, beyond the 200 nautical mile U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Pacific OCS Critical Minerals
The Pacific OCS contains four different mineral deposit types: polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts, sulfide deposits, and phosphorites. Areas of the Pacific OCS hold substantial potential for these critical minerals, which are essential for modern technology and energy systems. Ongoing exploration and assessment of these resources can play a vital role in securing the U.S. supply chain for critical minerals, enhancing economic stability and national security.
Latest Activity in the Pacific OCS
On May 20, 2025, the Department of the Interior announced it is initiating the process to evaluate a potential mineral lease sale in the waters offshore American Samoa. In response, BOEM will begin a multi-step evaluation process grounded in science, public engagement and environmental stewardship.
The first formal step will be the publication of a request for information and Interest in the Federal Register. This notice will seek input from the Indigenous Island community, ocean users, industry stakeholders, government agencies and the public. Feedback will help inform BOEM’s assessment of geologic conditions, potential environmental and cultural impacts and the multiple uses of the area, such as navigation and fishing.
BOEM will also ensure full compliance with all applicable laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.
On April 8, 2025, BOEM received an unsolicited lease sale request from U.S. corporation Impossible Metals for a mineral lease sale offshore American Samoa. The agency conducted a thorough evaluation of the request to determine whether or not to move forward with the leasing process in American Samoa.
BOEM employs a dedicated team of geoscientists, marine scientists and other technical experts to focus on critical minerals who are diligently assessing the location and quantities of these valuable minerals in the Pacific OCS. We are actively collaborating with other federal agencies, like the USGS and NOAA, and partner organizations to map and characterize seabed mineral resources in the Pacific OCS.
BOEM's Pacific regional environmental studies are also playing a crucial role in assisting future planning and decisions for critical minerals leasing and potential development.
BOEM has co-funded several studies to better understand these resources. Recent activities include:
Click on the thumbnail below to view prospectus seabed mineral regions in the Pacific through the USGS viewer.
