S. 2860 — Revitalizing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals Dominance Act

This section states congressional findings on the national security and economic importance of U.S. leadership in deep sea science, technology, and seabed mineral resources—particularly polymetallic nodules and deposits of critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, titanium, and rare earth elements—and declares it U.S. policy to accelerate their responsible development through streamlined permitting, investment in science and technology, interagency coordination, global partnerships, domestic supply chains, and countering foreign influence.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) commercial recovery and exploration, having the meanings given those terms in the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act; (2) critical mineral, having the meaning given that term in the Energy Act of 2020; (3) lease and outer Continental Shelf, having the meanings given those terms in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; (4) mineral, meaning a critical mineral, uranium, copper, potash, gold, or any other element or compound that the Chair of the National Energy Dominance Council determines appropriate; (5) processing, meaning the concentration, separation, refinement, alloying, and conversion of minerals into usable forms; (6) prospecting, meaning geological and geophysical prospecting activities as defined in 30 C.F.R. § 580.1; (7) seabed mineral resource, meaning a mineral-bearing material located in the seabed of the outer Continental Shelf, including a polymetallic nodule, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crust, polymetallic sulfide, heavy mineral sand, and phosphorite; and (8) United States company, having the meaning given the term "United States citizen" in the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.

This section directs the Secretaries of Commerce, Interior, State, Defense, and Energy, not later than 60 days after enactment, to take several actions to facilitate U.S. access to seabed critical minerals, as follows: (1) directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the NOAA Administrator and consulting the Secretaries of State and Interior (through the BOEM Director), to expedite the review and issuance of exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (i.e., regulating deep seabed mining beyond national jurisdiction), ensuring efficiency, predictability, and competitiveness for U.S. companies; (2) directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish an expedited process for reviewing and approving prospecting permits and leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (i.e., governing mineral leasing on the U.S. outer continental shelf), ensuring efficiency, predictability, and competitiveness for U.S. companies; (3) directs the Secretary of the Interior, consulting the Secretaries of State and Commerce and other agencies and cooperating with commercial and nongovernmental organizations, to develop a plan to map priority seabed and outer continental shelf areas (e.g., those with abundant or accessible minerals) to accelerate data collection and characterization; (4) directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify critical minerals derivable from seabed resources and, coordinating with the Secretaries of Defense and Energy, to determine which are essential for defense infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy applications; (5) directs the Secretary of Commerce, coordinating with the Secretaries of State, Interior, and Energy, to engage key partners and allies (as determined by the Secretary of State based on existing agreements, strategic alignment, and joint initiatives) to support seabed mineral exploration, extraction, processing, and monitoring in their jurisdictions, including by seeking scientific collaboration and commercial opportunities for U.S. companies and developing a prioritized list of countries; and (6) requires two reports to the Senate Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Natural Resources: (A) from the Secretary of the Interior, coordinating with the Secretaries of Commerce and Energy, identifying private-sector interest and opportunities for seabed mineral exploration and mining on the outer continental shelf, in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and in foreign jurisdictions open to U.S. partnerships; and (B) jointly from the Secretaries of Interior, State, Commerce, and Energy, assessing the feasibility of an international benefit-sharing mechanism for seabed extraction in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This section states that nothing in it impairs existing agency authorities or creates enforceable rights or benefits against the United States.