Ranking Member Dexter Slams Deep Sea Mining Push: “The economic argument is a mirage”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, pushed House Republicans to defend the fallacy of deep-sea mining in an Oversight and Investigations Committee hearing on the topic. Dexter criticized the Trump administration’s recent executive order as a brazen attempt to bypass international law, harm Pacific communities, and hand over our shared global resources to cash-strapped companies and foreign adversaries alike. 

 
Read Ranking Member Dexter’s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, below:  

“Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to our witnesses. I appreciate the opportunity to educate ourselves on an issue of profound environmental and economic consequence: deep sea mining. 

 It's unfortunate indeed that our President has already issued an Executive Order on this topic, even knowing we had this hearing forthcoming, showing his disregard for transparency and public input. 

Let me be clear from the outset: deep sea mining is a high-risk, low-reward endeavor. It carries grave risks to our oceans and communities, with no credible evidence of return on investment. 

Supporters of deep sea mining argue it will meet an urgent demand for minerals like cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese—currently essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy. But the math simply does not add up. 

The industry’s financial models are based on wildly optimistic assumptions and fail to reflect the volatility and reality of global mineral markets. 

Between 2016 and 2023, electric vehicle production skyrocketed by 2,000%. Yet over that same period, nickel prices rose only 28%, copper just 21%, and cobalt prices fell by 10%. 

If prices remained stagnant—or even dropped—during the most significant boom in EV production to date, it’s a stretch to assume prices will spike in the future to support a new, highly capital-intensive mining operation in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. It’s important to note that China—the world’s largest producer of electric vehicles and responsible for 61 percent of global rare earth mineral production—has already moved away from using cobalt in EV batteries. 

If cobalt were truly essential to the future of clean energy, they wouldn’t be leaving it behind. We also need to be honest about what’s actually in the seabed. Polymetallic nodules contain only four commercially viable metals. Claims that deep sea mining will solve supply chain needs for rare earth elements or national security-critical materials are exaggerated and grossly misleading. These minerals are not found in significant quantities on the ocean floor, and extracting them from nodules is inefficient and environmentally devastating. 

And let’s talk about cost. Deep sea mining is no different from other high-risk industrial endeavors. It demands massive upfront capital investment. The record shows that two-thirds of large-scale industrial extractive projects go over budget, often by 50% or more. 

There is no reason to believe deep sea mining will fare any better, especially given the extreme challenges of working at depths of 13,000 feet, where intense pressure, freezing temperatures, and corrosive conditions make operations both technically and financially risky. 

We’ve already seen what this risk looks like in practice. The company leading the charge, The Metals Company, projected it could extract 12 million tons of material per year. But in 2022, after a two-month test, it recovered just 3,000 tons—less than 1% of its target. That’s not a proof of concept; it’s a red flag. And now that these startups are running out of cash, they’re looking to the Trump administration for a bailout. 

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order to fast-track deep sea mining permits in international waters, allowing companies like the Metals Company to bypass the International Seabed Authority. Such a move would violate international law, strain relations with Pacific communities, and set a dangerous precedent for unilateral exploitation, opening the door for adversaries like China and Russia to justify expanding their own maritime activities. 

Deep sea mining could seriously disrupt fisheries, as increased sediment concentrations can damage fish gills and impair respiration. The industry itself seems to recognize the writing on the wall. Major corporations like Google, BMW, Samsung, and Volkswagen have pledged not to source minerals from the deep sea. 

Financial institutions, including Lloyds and Standard Chartered, are refusing to back deep-sea mining. Even longtime backers like Maersk and Lockheed Martin have pulled their support. 

The deep-sea mining industry lacks not just a social license to operate—it lacks a business case. Meanwhile, viable alternatives are emerging. 

Battery innovation is reducing the need for cobalt and nickel, and investment in recycling and circular economy technologies is growing rapidly. By 2050, nearly half of all cobalt and nickel needs could be met through recycling alone. We do not need to bulldoze the bottom of the ocean to power our clean energy future. The economic argument is a mirage, the financial risk is immense, and the consequences—to ecosystems, to fisheries, to Indigenous communities, and to our global climate—are too great to ignore. 

I urge my colleagues to reject deep sea mining as a viable path forward and instead invest in the sustainable, science-based alternatives that truly support our clean energy and conservation goals. 

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield back.” 

Stream the hearing here.  

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