U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the U.S. government could approve deep-sea mining projects in the coming months to expand supplies of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. According to Sina Finance, the United States has not yet issued a commercial deep-sea mining permit, and officials must separately handle seabed leasing in U.S. waters and exploration and commercial recovery applications in international waters.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the U.S. Commerce Department, is reviewing a combined application filed by The Metals Company’s U.S. subsidiary. According to Sina Finance, the project is located in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico and would collect polymetallic nodules from the seabed.

The agency has confirmed that the filing meets acceptance requirements, but that only means the project has entered formal review and has not been approved. The application is now in a public comment period through October 19, and the regulator will hold a hearing on October 13. An environmental impact report is still required before a decision can be made on exploration and commercial recovery permits.

The article said the U.S. has previously issued only two deep-sea exploration permits, both held by Lockheed Martin and dating back to 1984, while commercial recovery permits remain at zero. It also said at least nine companies have discussed seabed mineral resources with the U.S. government, and Impossible Metals has applied to advance seabed leasing near American Samoa.