A regulatory path has opened, the supply of these metals is being cut off, and a national-security buyer is stepping in. The window is now.
In April 2025, Executive Order 14285 — Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources — directed an expedited permitting process for seabed minerals under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. The first consolidated NOAA application was deemed fully compliant in 2026, with a licence and commercial-recovery permit expected in early 2027. For the first time in decades, there is a clear path that a disciplined operator can follow.
The minerals nodules carry are exactly those whose supply is tightening — through export bans, controls and concentration in a handful of jurisdictions.
| Jurisdiction | Action | Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| DR Congo | Cobalt export ban | ~70% of global production |
| China | Rare-earth export controls | 71% of U.S. imports |
| Gabon | Manganese ore restrictions | 64% of U.S. imports |
| Indonesia | Nickel ore export ban | world's largest producer |
The United States is 100% net-import reliant on 12 critical minerals — including manganese and cobalt — and at least 50% reliant on 29 more, including nickel and copper. Nodules contain all four of the metals at the centre of that exposure.
In February 2026, the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy told the Senate Armed Services Committee that securing a resilient critical-minerals supply chain is a clear and present national-security priority — and pointed to the federal tools now funding domestic production. The metals nodules deliver sit squarely inside that mandate.
The takeaway. Most of the industry models nodules as a battery-metals story. We also see a defense and infrastructure story: an American source of nickel, manganese, copper and cobalt, arriving exactly as the government builds the funding and offtake tools to support domestic supply. Talk to us →
Source: U.S. Department of War, "Securing Rare Earth Elements: A National Security Imperative" (Feb 2026); Executive Order 14285 (Apr 2025); USGS Critical Minerals List. The Department of War statement concerns critical minerals broadly, including rare earths; nodules deliver nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, not rare earths.