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The nation depends on minerals for infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and energy, and some of them are critical minerals, essential to the economy and national security. Many occur on the seabed. But in much of the ocean little is known about how abundant these minerals are, what they contain, where they lie, or what lives around them. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works to fill that gap with impartial science — mapping where the minerals may occur, studying how they become enriched in valuable elements, examining the physical and chemical consequences of extracting them, and studying the ecosystems around them — so that decision-makers and the public can make informed choices.
A remotely operated vehicle collects a sulfide sample from the Escanaba Trough off northern California. Image from the USGS fact sheet.
Who does what
Three parts of the USGS share the work:
- The Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program leads federal seabed mineral science, including research on polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and around the Cook Islands, cobalt-rich crusts in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic, and polymetallic sulfides worldwide — most recently on an interagency expedition to the Escanaba Trough.
- The Land Management Research Program studies seabed and water-column ecosystems and how disturbing them could affect them, including recent work on the Blake Plateau off South Carolina.
- The Mineral Resources Program, through its National Minerals Information Center, tracks mineral commodities and supply chains, including any minerals taken from the seabed.
The USGS also works with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which regulates mineral extraction on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, and NOAA, which regulates U.S. activity on the high seas.
What is down there
Minerals occur in every ocean basin, from the coast to the deep sea. In the deep ocean, exploration focuses on three types:
| Mineral type | Where it forms | Main metals of interest |
|---|---|---|
| Polymetallic nodules | Sediment-covered abyssal plains, 11,500–21,325 feet deep | Nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese (plus rare earths and lithium) |
| Polymetallic sulfides | Some hydrothermal vents, at spreading centers and subduction zones | Copper, zinc, gold, silver, lead (plus many byproducts) |
| Cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts | Rock surfaces, often on seamounts, 1,300–23,000 feet deep | Manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper (plus rare earths, tellurium, scandium, platinum) |
| Rare-earth-rich muds | Deep-sea muds a few meters below the seafloor | Rare earth elements and yttrium |
| Phosphorites | Continental margins and offshore seamounts | Phosphorus and rare earths |
| Heavy mineral sands | Coasts, where water sorts them from other sediment | Titanium, tin, platinum, gold, silver, rare earths |
Nickel, cobalt and manganese — critical minerals abundant in seafloor deposits — go into stainless steel, superalloys and batteries. The rare earth elements and yttrium are a group of 17 elements; two of them, neodymium and dysprosium, are used in permanent magnets and lasers.
Phosphorite.
A polymetallic nodule. USGS.
Where it is — and what is still unknown
Seabed minerals occur throughout the oceans, including in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone — which is larger than the land area of the United States — and on its Extended Continental Shelf.
Global seabed mineral prospective regions, including those within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Image from the USGS fact sheet.
Prospective regions show where minerals may occur, based on geology and ocean conditions. But as of 2025 only a handful of places had enough data on grade and tonnage to call them true deposits — concentrations that could be commercially viable.
Sources
Based on "U.S. Geological Survey global seabed mineral resources," U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2025–3017; a work of the United States government in the public domain. Pictures an earlier version of this page left out were restored on 2026-09-26.
Licens: CC0 1.0 (allmän egendom) · Bearbetat efter pubs.usgs.gov
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