Key points
- The Energy Act of 2020 defined critical minerals as non-fuel resources essential to U.S. economic or national security with a disruptable supply chain.
- The USGS updated its List of Critical Minerals in 2025 to include 60 minerals such as aluminum, copper, nickel, titanium and zinc.
- More than half of the USGS-listed critical minerals occur in deep seafloor deposits such as polymetallic nodules, ferromanganese crusts and seafloor massive sulfides.
- Under Executive Order 14285, NOAA Ocean Exploration works with the USGS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to map priority mineral-enriched regions.
Marine critical minerals are minerals found on the ocean floor that are essential to the United States economy and security.
The Energy Act of 2020 defined “critical” minerals as non-fuel resources that are essential to the economic or national security of the United States; serve an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for U.S. economic or national security; and have a supply chain that can be disrupted. The List of Critical Minerals maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), was updated in 2025 to include 60 minerals such as aluminum, copper, magnesium, nickel, silicon, titanium, and zinc.
Although you may not see or think about critical minerals, you likely rely on them every day. Critical minerals are used in everything from defense systems and batteries to smartphones and medical devices.
Of the critical minerals identified by the USGS, more than half can be found in deep seafloor deposits. Seabed mineral resource types include polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, seafloor massive sulfides, heavy mineral sands, phosphorites, and other mineral-bearing formations. These resources can contain high concentrations of manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt, and zinc, among other metals.
Three deep-ocean environments are known to contain mineral-rich deposits: abyssal plains with polymetallic nodules, seamounts with cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, and hydrothermal vents with polymetallic sulfides. Accessing these resources in order to strengthen our nation’s economy and secure our energy future requires a better understanding of the deep ocean through mapping and exploration.
In the Ocean Exploration Act, Congress directed NOAA Ocean Exploration to assess “living and nonliving marine resources” and the exploration of potential mineral resources to understand their environmental context has long been part of the office’s mission. President Donald Trump made responsible seabed mineral development an administration priority by releasing Executive Order EO14285: Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources. In support of the E.O. and the U.S. Marine Critical Minerals Mapping Plan developed in response to the E.O., NOAA Ocean Exploration works with partners in NOAA as well as with other federal agencies, such as the USGS and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to collect data and information needed to identify mineral-enriched areas in priority regions, support mineral resource assessments, and gather the environmental data needed to support responsible resource decision-making.
Responsible use of ocean resources like marine critical minerals is built on providing the best science available to decision makers. The data collected by NOAA Ocean Exploration and our partners are used to inform resource managers and ensure sound decision-making, but NOAA Ocean Exploration is not responsible for seabed mineral resource management or regulation.
