The US plans to auction off sections of water around American Samoa in a push for deep-sea mining.
The U.S. government plans to auction off massive sections of water surrounding American Samoa for potential deep-sea mining in an unprecedented move that is expected to draw criticism from many countries.
The area of the water surface planned to be auctioned off covers a total of 33 million acres (about 51,560 square miles).
The proposed leasing notice was published on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to expedite mining permits despite growing environmental concerns.
