Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Underwater Minerals Conference (UMC) is an annual international forum, with representatives from over 25 countries that since 1970 has brought the marine minerals community together.

UMC is the world’s largest gathering of ocean mineral stakeholders, including government, academic, and commercial sector professionals.

Attending from the American Samoa Government are:

Rachel Sanford, Matila Petti, Michael McDonald and Reese Levi.

Topics considered for the conference include:

• •        Geological and biological studies of marine minerals deposits and their      associated biological communities.

• •        Regulatory considerations related to mineral resource and environmental impact assessment.
• •        Technological considerations related to scientific survey objectives and commercial recovery objectives.
• •        General policy considerations related to the long-term development of these resources.
• •        Other relevant topics.​

UMC 2024 - The 52nd Underwater Minerals Conference is presented by the International Marine Minerals Society (IMMS) in partnership with the government of the Cook Islands. This year's Technical Program Chair is Dr. John Wiltshire, president of IMMS. 

The Conference is being held in-person and at the National Auditorium, in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.