seabed mining
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The 36th General Assembly of the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa is scheduled to convene from July 12 to July 24 at the church's headquarters located in Kanana-fou. The central theme for this year's assembly is “God Takes Residence in Creation,”...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The US Department of the Interior (DOI), has requested an addition $4 million in its 2027 budget for a “critical mineral leasing” project.
DOI which oversees the country’s domestic deep sea mining plans, has released a timeline for issuing the first deep sea mineral...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Pacific delegates in the United States Congress are warning efforts to fast-track deep-seabed mining could sideline island communities and cause irreversible damage to fragile ocean ecosystems.
The concerns were raised at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing in...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Cook Islands issued exploration licenses to three companies in February 2022 to conduct seabed minerals exploration over five years, involving scientific research and environmental impact assessments to determine if mining is viable.
Seabed Minerals commissioner Beverly...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The newly appointed Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) commissioner Beverly Stacey-Ataera says public trust and open dialogue will be at the centre of the Cook Islands' seabed minerals journey.
Stacey-Ataera told Cook Islands News she welcomes scrutiny from environmental...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The total monetary value of seabed critical minerals in the South Pacific is estimated to be around US$20 trillion. This value includes vast reserves of cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and rare earth elements found in polymetallic nodules and other seabed deposits....
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Pula & Pulu administration has firmly opposed the proposed seabed mining operations in the waters surrounding American Samoa in a video announcement released by the Governor’s Office over the weekend. The announcement featured Head of Communications Don Maifala,...
Honolulu,HAWAII — In order for their sovereignty to be recognized internationally, Indigenous Pacific peoples had to adopt the nation-state structure created by imperial powers, conform to geographic boundaries carved by their colonizers, and enter a global economic order that prizes extractive...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — With American Samoa’s largest private industry relying on the locally based fishing fleet for fish supply and access to fishing grounds, the protection of the local EEZ in order to mitigate climate change calls for sustainable management of ocean resources and protection...
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Deep Sea Mining, a globally respected critical mineral trade journal, has listed American Samoa as a leading global candidate to develop an Electric Vehicle critical mineral receiving and refining industry.
Phillip Gales, a noted Deep Sea Mining industry expert says in...





![Seabed Minerals Authority commissioner Beverly Stacey-Ataera. [Photo: SBMA] Beverly Stacey-Ataera](https://www.samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/seabed_mineral_authority_commissioner_copy.jpg?itok=OPg-B4XK)


![Deep-sea mining technology is ready for approval from international bodies, but the debate on the ethics of the practice continues. [Photo: Seatools] seabed mining](https://www.samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/mining_in_deep_sea_copy.jpg?itok=hSn6ZYx1)

![Rise of electric vehicles offers economic opportunity for Am Samoa. [courtesy photo] Map of the U.S. EEZs of Western Pacific Region](https://www.samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/eez_seabed_mining.jpg?itok=ouOgkoh5)