Close Menu
  • News
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Commodities
  • Collectables
    • Art
    • Classic Cars
    • Whiskey
    • Wine
  • Trading
  • Alternative Investment
  • Markets
  • More
    • Economy
    • Money
    • Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Investing
    • Financial Planning
    • ETFs
    • Equities
    • Funds

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest markets and assets news and updates directly to your inbox.

Trending Now

Biggest Canadian Defense Contractors and ETFs in 2025

July 17, 2025

Wide Gold Intercepts at Mt York Support Future Resource Growth

July 17, 2025

4,000-year-old ancient city discovered in Peru – The Art Newspaper

July 17, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
The Asset ObserverThe Asset Observer
Newsletter
LIVE MARKET DATA
  • News
  • Stocks
  • Bonds
  • Commodities
  • Collectables
    • Art
    • Classic Cars
    • Whiskey
    • Wine
  • Trading
  • Alternative Investment
  • Markets
  • More
    • Economy
    • Money
    • Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Investing
    • Financial Planning
    • ETFs
    • Equities
    • Funds
The Asset ObserverThe Asset Observer
Home»Investing
Investing

Seabed Mining Heats Up as Lockheed Martin Courts Interest in Pacific Licenses

News RoomBy News RoomJuly 16, 2025
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is in early talks with undersea mining companies to open access to two dormant seabed exploration licenses it has held since the 1980s

The move signals a renewed US push to tap the ocean floor for critical minerals.

The licenses, which cover swaths of the eastern Pacific seabed in international waters, were awarded to Lockheed by US regulators decades ago during a previous wave of interest in deep-sea mining.


Though 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.

“We are in early stages of conversations with several companies about giving them access to our licences and allowing them to process those materials,” Frank St. John, Lockheed’s chief operating officer, told the Financial Times.

While St. John declined to quantify the potential value of the deposits, he added that interested parties have “done the homework and determined there is value there.”

Lockheed’s seabed licenses could represent a strategic foothold in a mineral-rich region, containing polymetallic nodules that can hold commercially viable concentrations of key metals.

The timing also coincides with recent executive action from the White House.

USPresident Donald Trump, who returned to office in January, signed an executive order in April asserting US rights to issue mining licenses in international waters and encouraging the stockpiling of seabed metals as strategic resources.

The order bypasses ongoing negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the UN agency tasked with regulating deep-sea mining, and instead relies on the 1980 US Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act as the legal foundation.

It emphasizes the need to “establish the US as a global leader in seabed mineral exploration and development both within and beyond national jurisdiction.” While the US has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — the treaty from which the ISA derives its authority — it has signed a 1994 agreement recognizing the treaty’s seabed provisions and operates its own permitting system through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lockheed said it welcomes the renewed policy attention. “We believe the US has the opportunity to develop a gold standard for commercial recovery of nodules in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Court upholds TMC disclosures on deep-dea mining risks

Lockheed is not alone in navigating the legal uncertainties surrounding seabed mining.

The Metals Company (TMC) (NASDAQ:TMC), a deep-sea mining startup, recently survived a shareholder lawsuit alleging it had misled investors about the environmental impacts and financial backing of its operations.

US District Judge Eric Komitee dismissed the claims, ruling that the company’s comparisons to conventional mining methods were not misleading, even if deep-sea mining still carries environmental risks.

“It is eminently possible that (1) deep-sea mining causes meaningful environmental harm, and yet (2) such harm is significantly less than the harm caused by existing methods,” the judge wrote.

TMC had disclosed in filings that deep-sea mining could result in damage and that the regulatory path remained uncertain. Its legal win may encourage others — like Lockheed — to proceed more openly with their seabed plans, albeit cautiously.

Deep-sea mining industry cautiously awakens

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.

The ISA has issued more than 30 exploratory permits, but has yet to finalize commercial extraction rules. That delay has prompted frustration from some parties, while drawing calls from others for a pause or outright ban.

Currently, the ISA is holding key assemblies in Jamaica to hash out the long-awaited mining code to regulate commercial activity on the ocean floor with provisions for environmental safeguards, royalties, and tax obligations.

But a growing number of countries — 37 at last count — have pushed for a precautionary pause, citing risks to deep-sea ecosystems that remain largely uncharted. Scientists warn that mining these habitats could cause irreversible damage.

In 2023, Lockheed appeared to step back from the sector by selling two UK-sponsored exploration licenses in the Pacific, a move interpreted by analysts as signaling reduced confidence in deep-sea mining.

However, its retained US licenses suggest it never fully exited the space.

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.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.



Read the full article here

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Keep Reading

Biggest Canadian Defense Contractors and ETFs in 2025

Wide Gold Intercepts at Mt York Support Future Resource Growth

Franklin Templeton promotes Harry Reeves to head of UK wholesale

JP Morgan Global Bond Opportunities fund added to HL Wealth Shortlist

Rule Symposium 2025: Gold, Geopolitics and the Real Asset Uprising

Chancellor orders Consumer Duty wholesale review

Empire Metals Limited Announces Team Expansion & Bulk Met Testing Commences

Stagflation worries emerge as higher inflation rates become a worrying trend

Surface Metals: Gold and Lithium Portfolios in North America’s Most Strategic Jurisdictions

Recent Posts
  • Biggest Canadian Defense Contractors and ETFs in 2025
  • Wide Gold Intercepts at Mt York Support Future Resource Growth
  • 4,000-year-old ancient city discovered in Peru – The Art Newspaper
  • Mexico City’s Museo Dolores Olmedo to reopen in 2026 amid controversy – The Art Newspaper
  • 7 Artists to Follow at Foundations 2025

Subscribe to Newsletter

Get the latest markets and assets news and updates directly to your inbox.

Editors Picks

Wide Gold Intercepts at Mt York Support Future Resource Growth

July 17, 2025

4,000-year-old ancient city discovered in Peru – The Art Newspaper

July 17, 2025

Mexico City’s Museo Dolores Olmedo to reopen in 2026 amid controversy – The Art Newspaper

July 17, 2025

7 Artists to Follow at Foundations 2025

July 16, 2025

Global Auction Sales Fell 6% for First Half of 2025: ArtTactic Report

July 16, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
© 2025 The Asset Observer. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.