American Samoa Is Resisting US Plan to Mine Nearby Seabed

The U.S. Department of Interior confirmed on Monday that it will proceed with the first-ever competitive lease sale for offshore critical minerals, targeting approximately 32 million acres of seabed in the South Pacific off the coast of American Samoa. The auction is scheduled for November 19, marking a pivotal step in the Trump administration’s strategy to access deep-sea resources. Winning bidders will secure development rights for these zones over a twenty-year period. This move follows a final leasing notice published by the Marine Minerals Administration on October 20, which formally set the date for the transaction. The initiative stems from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on April 24, 2025. That directive classified seabed minerals, specifically copper, cobalt, manganese, and nickel, as vital to national security. The order instructed federal agencies to accelerate deep-sea mining operations within the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf and international waters. Prior to this mandate, on April 8, 2025, a U.S. company named Impossible Metals submitted an unsolicited request for a commercial lease to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Interest from several other firms during the subsequent evaluation phase prompted the agency to expand the lease area and divide it into two distinct blocks. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management was later integrated into the Marine Minerals Administration in July 2026. Local opposition to the plan is mounting through both political channels and the courts. A coalition comprising a council of matai, or chiefs, along with two community groups, recently filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court aiming to halt the November 19 sale. Represented by the legal organization Earthjustice, the plaintiffs include Fa'asao Amerika Samoa, the Conservation Council for Hawaii, and the Faleula o le Manu'atele council of matai. They argue that the Marine Minerals Administration lacks the legal authority to issue these leases due to unmet treaty requirements specific to American Samoa. This new legal challenge supplements a separate suit filed in August by Fa'asao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawaii. A hearing in that earlier case is set for October 30, with the judge agreeing to an expedited schedule given the upcoming auction deadline. While a ruling in the first case could impact the government's ability to proceed, it remains unclear if the new lawsuit will be adjudicated before the sale occurs. Civil society groups in American Samoa cite significant ecological risks to marine ecosystems and threats to the local fishing economy as primary reasons for their resistance. These concerns reflect broader anxieties across the Pacific region regarding U.S. efforts to exploit seabed resources. The territory itself consists of seven islands, two coral atolls, and a population of roughly 46,000. The ocean is central to local livelihoods, with the tuna industry supporting approximately 83 percent of private sector jobs, often utilizing labor from neighboring Samoa. Despite local objections, the federal government maintains that the lease process does not immediately authorize extraction. A spokesperson for the Marine Minerals Administration stated that any actual mining proposals would still require subsequent multiagency environmental and regulatory reviews. American Samoa, an unincorporated and unorganized U.S. territory, has had a complex relationship with resource management. Its locally elected government banned seabed mining in its territorial waters in July 2024, though that jurisdiction extends only three nautical miles offshore. The proposed lease areas lie beyond this boundary on the Outer Continental Shelf. Consequently, while Governor Pulaali'i Nikolao Pula can comment on the sale's terms, he lacks the power to block the auction. In a September 15 statement, Governor Pula indicated that his administration did not currently support commercial deep-sea mineral extraction. International attention has also focused on the situation. The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution in December 2025 concerning American Samoa, expressing concern over the exploitation of natural resources in non-self-governing territories by administering powers. At the committee level, a similar resolution passed recently, with only the United States and Israel voting against it. Unlike the independent nation of Samoa to the west, American Samoa has been listed by the UN as a non-self-governing territory since 1946. Legal advocates warn that stopping the sale before leases are sold is crucial, as challenging the plans becomes significantly more difficult once mining companies have purchased portions of the seabed floor.