Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories
Jun 10, 2025

Companies are betting on deep sea mining for critical minerals

Marketplace contributor Daniel Ackerman says deep-sea mining companies are innovating for how to efficiently mine rare Earth minerals — but scaling this work is still a big question.

Download
Chunks of copper ore mineral rocks in an iron barrel.
Chunks of copper ore mineral rocks in an iron barrel.
wingedwolf/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Subscribe:

The International Energy Agency projects the global market value of critical minerals could reach almost $800 billion by 2040. That's because we must have them for the electrified future. And right now, China is a dominant supplier.

The Trump administration wants to find other sources, and it's looking to U.S. and international waters to mine minerals on the ocean floor.

Marketplace contributor Daniel Ackerman has been reporting on the deep-sea mining companies that are working to figure out how to harvest in unforgiving terrain.

More on this

New policies may part the waters for ocean mining” from Marketplace

Critical Minerals: A new frontier for global energy security” from International Energy Agency

The Team

Companies are betting on deep sea mining for critical minerals