Federal government scouts for interest in mineral mining off Virginia shores

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has pitched the possibility of leasing areas of the outer continental shelf off Virginia’s shores for mineral mining. Over the next month, the agency will seek comments from seabed mining industries interested in leasing portions of the coast.

The move is part of President Donald Trump’s effort to increase domestic production of minerals, which are needed for the production of electronics and defense materials.

“Virginia’s offshore mineral resources present a pathway to lessen foreign dependence and reinforce America’s strategic position by establishing secure domestic supply chains,” BOEM Acting Director Matt Diacona said in a statement.

The area that is under consideration for the lease sale is a massive swath next to the Eastern Shore that the Southern Environmental Law Center noted is larger than the state of Delaware. 

The entire zone under consideration would not be leased, but if the mining industry shows interest in extracting minerals off the coast, BOEM would then identify areas that could be available for a lease. From there, environmental tests and potential impacts would be analyzed before a lease is granted.

The SELC and Environment Virginia quickly condemned the idea of allowing private companies to conduct industrial dredging to remove large amounts of sediment from the ocean floor with heavy machinery. Both groups cited the major environmental risks it could pose.

“From dolphins breaching the waves to seabirds soaring above our heads, a visit to Virginia’s coast is a reminder of the vibrant ecosystems we are lucky enough to have right over the horizon. Ripping up vast swaths of the seafloor puts this ocean heritage at risk,” said Elly Wilson, the state director of Environment Virginia. 

Virginia has not conducted offshore mineral mining before. The SELC is gearing up to fight the potential lease and likened it to proposals for offshore drilling.

Following 2015 and 2018 proposals by BOEM to offer offshore leases for oil and gas production, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law in 2020 banning the permitting and leasing of seabeds within 50 miles of the commonwealth’s shores for oil and gas production. But that law still allows for mineral mining.

“This beloved public resource belongs to the people, not private, extractive industry. Opening Virginia’s federal waters to seabed mining would put countless essential resources at risk, and that’s not a risk we can or should take,” said Megan Huynh with SELC’s wetlands and coasts program.

Environment Virginia suggested that mining companies would be interested in heavy mineral sands in the deep water locations and phosphorites in the shallower waters. 

The United States Geological Survey states that “titanium, zirconium, and rare earth elements, needed to manufacture, for example, modern electronics for consumer and defense applications” are commonly found in those heavy mineral sands.

The nation relies on imports of these minerals from foreign countries across the globe, which the Trump administration wants to end..

A public comment period on the potential interest in this mining effort will be open on the Federal Register website until July 23.