Deep-sea mining's September 2026 frontier: one nodule field, two legal doors, a split Pacific.[1]
For a decade, the polymetallic nodule fields of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone were reachable through only one door: the International Seabed Authority. In 2021 Nauru triggered the UNCLOS provision forcing the ISA to finish its mining code within two years. That deadline passed in 2023 with no code agreed, and none exists today.[1]
The United States never ratified UNCLOS and was never an ISA member — but it left a 1980 domestic law, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, dormant for over four decades. In April 2025, Washington switched it on.[1]
The Metals Company's own conduct is the proof of the pivot. In March 2025, as the ISA's mining-code deadline slipped for the second time, TMC's chief financial officer told investors the company still intended to file for the NORI licence area but "has not yet determined with which regulator." Within weeks, TMC's American subsidiary had filed with NOAA under the newly reactivated 1980 law, covering the same class of Clarion-Clipperton nodules NORI was exploring under Nauru's sponsorship.[1]
By August 2026, NOAA had certified that filing as fully compliant and expanded it twice: a consolidated area of roughly 65,000 square kilometres plus a second block of 122,000 more. A final decision is expected by early 2027.[1]
On 19 November, the United States plans to auction two seabed blocks off American Samoa — more than 31 million acres combined — for a minimum bid of $3 million apiece, live-streamed from a federal office in California. No exploration contract. No sponsoring state. No International Seabed Authority. Just a federal lease, issued under a domestic mining law from 1980, for the same kind of polymetallic nodules that Nauru spent a decade building an entire national strategy around controlling.[1]
Nauru's lawyer Duncan Currie called the pivot "extremely insulting and concerning to the Pacific," adding that Pacific nations "have been lent on, pushed, coaxed" for years.[1]
The Pacific Islands Forum is split down the middle: Nauru, Tonga, Cook Islands and Kiribati see nodules as fiscal necessity; Palau, Fiji, Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and the Federated States of Micronesia want a moratorium; Australia, the region's largest partner, stays conspicuously neutral.[1] An African Group analysis pegs plausible royalty income at roughly $97,800 per ISA member per year — nowhere near the hundreds of millions mining companies pitch to host governments.[1]
Money is moving anyway. Cook Islands: a joint funding pledge of over $100 million from the United States and New Zealand to upgrade the critical lifeline port on Penrhyn — boosting safety, trade, and regional connectivity — announced with Prime Minister Mark Brown ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.[2]
Fiji stays precautionary: more scientific evidence is needed before any mining is considered in its waters, and the country already has the International Seabed Minerals Management Act of 2013. Minister Filimoni Vosarogo's statement came on the margins of the Suva consultation with ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho — the piece is from 20 May 2026, dated not fresh.[4]
Japan runs its own lane, inside its EEZ.[3] Off Minamitorishima, roughly 1,900 km from the mainland where the seabed runs about 6,000 m deep, researchers successfully recovered rare-earth-rich mud from a depth of about 5,600 m during January-February test operations. The next test determines whether Japan can extract the mud at a larger scale and establish a practical supply chain. SIP program director Masakazu Ishii: "Interest from the International Seabed Authority [ISA] is extremely high, and we are maintaining close contact."[3]
The ISA mining code still does not exist; the global rulebook remains the open question under both doors. A stock-media report that TMC shares climbed about 7% on an Allseas deep-sea mining deal was not verifiable this run (stocktwits sat behind a Cloudflare wall) [unverified]. The Fiji Sun piece and Chemical & Engineering News' Japan feature were not retrievable this run, so this digest stands on the four cited sources.[unverified]
[1] https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/08/30/nauru-built-the-only-door-into-deep-sea-mining-washington-just-opened-a-second-one — Nauru Built the Only Door Into Deep-Sea Mining — Washington Just Opened a Second One (Modern Diplomacy)
> "The US is bypassing the International Seabed Authority to permit deep-sea mining unilaterally."
> "In 2021, Nauru triggered a UNCLOS provision forcing the ISA to finish its “mining code” within two years. That deadline passed in 2023 with no code agreed, and none exists today."
> "By August 2026, NOAA had certified that filing as fully compliant and expanded it twice, to a consolidated area of roughly 65,000 square kilometres plus a second block of 122,000 more — a final decision is expected by early 2027."
> "On 19 November, the United States plans to auction two seabed blocks off American Samoa — more than 31 million acres combined — for a minimum bid of $3 million apiece, live-streamed from a federal office in California."
> "Nauru, Tonga, Cook Islands and Kiribati see nodules as fiscal necessity; Palau, Fiji, Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and the Federated States of Micronesia want a moratorium"
> "No exploration contract. No sponsoring state. No International Seabed Authority. Just a federal lease, issued under a domestic mining law from 1980, for the same kind of polymetallic nodules that Nauru spent a decade building an entire national strategy around controlling."
[2] https://www.cookislandsnews.com/internal/national/local/outer-islands/economy/cook-islands-lands-101-million-us-nz-funding-commitment-for-penrhyn-port-upgrade — Cook Islands lands $101 million US-NZ funding commitment for Penrhyn Port upgrade (Cook Islands News / RNZ)
> "RNZ/Teuila Fuatai/ 26083113 Cook Islands has secured a joint funding pledge of over $100 million from the United States and New Zealand to upgrade the critical lifeline port on Penrhyn, boosting safety, trade, and regional connectivity."
[3] https://japan-forward.com/minamitorishima-rare-earth-project-insights-global-deep-sea-mining-rules — Japan Rare Earth Project Insights for Global Deep-Sea Mining Rules (Japan Forward)
> "Environmentally Friendly Mining During test-mining operations off Minamitorishima in January and February, researchers successfully recovered rare earth-rich mud from the seabed at a depth of about 5,600 meters (18,373 ft)."
> ""Interest from the International Seabed Authority [ISA] is extremely high, and we are maintaining close contact," said Masakazu Ishii, program director of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), a Cabinet Office initiative."
> "However, the project faces significant challenges, including the roughly 1,900-kilometer distance between the Japanese mainland and Minamitorishima and the seabed depth of about 6,000 meters. The next test will therefore be important not only for determining whether Japan can extract the mud at a larger scale, but also whether it can establish a practical supply chain from the seabed to the mainland."
[4] https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fiji-wants-more-science-before-seabed-mining — Fiji wants more science before seabed mining (FBC News, 20 May 2026)
> "[Photo: FILE] Fiji says it will continue taking a precautionary approach on deep-sea mining, with the government insisting more scientific evidence is needed before any mining activities are considered in the country’s waters."
> "Vosarogo says Fiji already has the International Seabed Minerals Management Act of 2013, but the law remains inactive because international regulations governing deep-sea mining are still being finalised."