Lockheed Martin Seeks Interest in Pacific Seabed Licenses for Critical Minerals Extraction.

Lockheed Martin is in talks with undersea mining companies to access dormant seabed exploration licenses in the eastern Pacific, signaling a renewed US push to tap the ocean floor for critical minerals. The licenses were awarded decades ago and could represent a strategic foothold in a mineral-rich region. The move comes amid recent executive action from the White House encouraging the stockpiling of seabed metals as strategic resources.

Title: Lockheed Martin Eyes Deep-Sea Mining for Critical Mineral Access

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is in talks with undersea mining companies to access dormant seabed exploration licenses in the eastern Pacific, signaling a renewed US push to tap the ocean floor for critical minerals. The licenses, which cover swaths of the seabed in international waters, were awarded to Lockheed by US regulators decades ago during a previous wave of interest in deep-sea mining. While the projects never progressed to extraction, they are now gaining fresh attention as nations and corporations seek alternative sources of key minerals used in electric vehicles, defense technologies, and clean energy systems.

The US defense giant holds two licences in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a mineral-rich area of international waters in the eastern Pacific. These were granted by US regulators in the early 1980s during the first wave of interest in ocean mining but remained unused for decades. Lockheed appeared to exit the sector in 2023 when it sold its UK-based deep-sea mining subsidiary, UK Seabed Resources, to Norway’s Loke Marine Minerals. That firm filed for bankruptcy in April, prompting an asset auction that returned the two licences to Lockheed’s control.

Chief operating officer Frank St John told the Financial Times there was “large interest” from undersea mining groups in accessing the licences. He said Lockheed is evaluating options to secure supplies of critical raw materials and is working closely with the Pentagon to identify resources that could support stockpiling or alternative sourcing strategies.

The timing of Lockheed’s renewed interest coincides with recent executive action from the White House. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April asserting US rights to issue mining licences in international waters and proposing that seabed metals be treated as strategic assets. Lockheed says the US has a chance to set a global standard for commercial recovery of seabed nodules “in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Polymetallic nodules — rock-like formations packed with nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and other minerals critical for electric vehicles and electronics — are believed to be abundant in the Pacific ocean. US government estimates suggest over one billion metric tonnes of these nodules lie within American-licensed zones, with the potential to add $300 billion to GDP and create 100,000 jobs over a decade.

Interest from mining firms has surged. Companies based or listed in North America, including Canada’s The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC), have recently applied for seabed mining licences.

Seabed mining ambitions still face turbulent waters. The International Seabed Authority (ISA), created by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — a treaty the US has never ratified — continues to develop environmental and regulatory frameworks for deep-sea mining. Representatives from 169 countries and the EU have been negotiating standards on royalties, taxation, and environmental impact, including acceptable levels of underwater noise and sediment.

The ISA is holding crucial talks in Jamaica this month to decide under what conditions mining operations may begin. In parallel, the US continues to operate its own licensing regime through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Trump administration’s executive order marks the most assertive US step yet to undermine the ISA’s multilateral approach, raising fears among diplomats that the agency may lose legitimacy. China, which has also invested heavily in seabed mining, responded sharply to the move.

The US authorization violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said earlier this year.

Lockheed Martin's renewed focus on seabed mining comes as the industry cautiously awakens from a decades-long de facto moratorium. The growing pursuit of potentially extracting resources from the world's oceans comes at a critical juncture for the seabed-mining industry. For decades, a de facto moratorium on mining in international waters has been in place due to regulatory uncertainty and environmental concerns.

References
[1] https://www.mining.com/lockheed-martin-reboots-pacific-seabed-mining-plans/
[2] https://investingnews.com/lockheed-eyes-deep-sea-mining/
[3] https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-critical-minerals-and-the-u.s-clean-energy-transition