America can’t defend itself with Chinese minerals: offshore supply lens for mine planners
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
America’s near-total reliance on China for critical minerals – including 90% of global rare earth magnets, all ultrapure dysprosium and samarium for defence uses – is framed by NOIA president Erik Milito as a direct national security risk. Milito backs President Trump’s “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources” executive order to fast-track offshore exploration, arguing that polymetallic nodules and shallow-water deposits could supply nickel, cobalt, manganese and copper at multi-generational scale. He points to decades of US sediment dredging and modern offshore robotics, monitoring and containment as evidence that well-regulated seabed mining can be run with controlled environmental impacts.
Technical Brief
- President Trump’s “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources” order explicitly instructs agencies to accelerate offshore exploration and production permitting.
- The Export-Import Bank has earmarked US$2.2 billion to back critical mineral projects in Australia.
- A resource base of around 1 billion tonnes of recoverable ocean minerals is projected as multi-generational feedstock.
Our Take
Among the 63 keyword-matched pieces on critical minerals and rare earth magnets in our database, very few involve large US commercial banks like JPMorgan Chase, suggesting this $10 billion strategic minerals initiative marks a notable move of mainstream finance into what has been a niche, policy-driven space.
The Export-Import Bank’s $2.2 billion pledge for projects in Australia aligns with a cluster of recent Mining stories where US and allied public lenders are underwriting non-Chinese supply of nickel, cobalt and manganese, which could steer project pipelines towards jurisdictions with clearer ESG and permitting frameworks than many emerging producers.
The reference to 1 billion tons of recoverable critical minerals in polymetallic nodules ties this op-ed to a small subset of sustainability-tagged coverage where deep-sea mining is framed as a potential alternative to Chinese-controlled terrestrial rare earth and cobalt supply, but also as a future flashpoint for environmental regulation and social licence debates.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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