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Deep Seabed Mining: Notice of Receipt of Applications for Deep Seabed Mining Exploration Licenses and Announcement of Public Comment Period and Virtual Public Hearings

A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 03/23/2026

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3. Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No.: 260313-0081 Document Citation 91 FR 13822 Document Number 2026-05599 Document Type Notice Pages 13822-13823 (2 pages) Publication Date 03/23/2026 RIN 0648-BN96 Published Content - Document Details

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• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency/Docket Number Docket No.: 260313-0081 Document Citation 91 FR 13822 Document Number 2026-05599 Document Type Notice Pages 13822-13823 (2 pages) Publication Date 03/23/2026 RIN 0648-BN96 Published Content - Document Details
• Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Comments Close 05/22/2026 Dates Text Comments on the applications must be received by May 22, 2026. The virtual public hearing for AMR's application is scheduled for April 21, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. For SeaX's application, the virtual public hearing is scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Instructions for attending the virtual public hearings are provided below. Published Content - Document Dates

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Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1. [Docket No.: 260313-0081]
2. RIN 0648-BN96

AGENCY:

Office for Coastal Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice of receipt of applications for deep seabed mining exploration licenses; request for comments; notice of virtual public hearing.

SUMMARY:

NOAA has received two applications for licenses to conduct seabed mining exploration activities that are fully compliant with the applicable information requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA or the Act) and the Act's implementing regulations. As part of the application review process, NOAA will hold one virtual public hearing on American Metal Resources, LLC's (AMR) application and one virtual public hearing on SeaX, Inc.'s (SeaX) application, and will accept written comments on the applications submitted electronically via the instructions below.

DATES:

Comments on the applications must be received by May 22, 2026. The virtual public hearing for AMR's application is scheduled for April 21, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. For SeaX's application, the virtual public hearing is scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Instructions for attending the virtual public hearings are provided below.

ADDRESSES:

The AMR application is electronically available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0034; The SeaX application is electronically available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0035. You may send comments, identified by docket number, by either of the following means:

Written Comments

• For the AMR application, submit all public written comments via the Federal regulations.gov e-Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0034 or go to www.regulations.gov and enter “NOAA-NOS-2026-0034” in the search bar.
• For the SeaX application, submit all public written comments via the Federal regulations.gov e-Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0035 or go to www.regulations.gov and enter “NOAA-NOS-2026-0035” in the search bar. For each docket, locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and click on the “Submit a comment” icon on the right of that line. Please note that comments will only be considered for the docket to which they are submitted. If your comment is in response to both the AMR application and the SeaX application, you must submit two comments, one to each docket.

Comments must be submitted by the date and electronic method described above to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and considered by NOAA. Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered. Comments that are not related to the applications or that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other inappropriate language will not be considered. To ensure full consideration by NOAA, comments must be submitted in English. Comments that are not submitted in English may not be posted to the public dockets on regulations.gov, or considered by NOAA. All relevant comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NOAA will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

Virtual Public Hearings

You may submit oral comments for AMR's Application during the April 21, 2026 meeting and oral comments for SeaX's Application during the April 22, 2026 meeting. Oral comments received during the hearing for AMR may not be considered as to SeaX, and vice versa.

NOAA will conduct two virtual public hearings via Adobe Connect. Each person who wants to attend either virtual public hearing must electronically register by April 21, 2026, 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Attendance at each virtual public hearing will be limited to 1,000 individuals. Any person who registers and wants to speak at a virtual public hearing should indicate that they want to speak during registration. To register for either hearing, use the following link: https://events-na13.adobeconnect.com/​content/​connect/​c1/​2358677976/​en/​events/​event/​shared/​10627447973/​e-vent​landing.html?​sco-id=​10651739456&​​charset_​=​utf-8. Any person who registers and wants to speak at a virtual public hearing should indicate that they want to speak during registration. Each registered participant will receive an Adobe Connect link for the virtual public hearing.

Once the virtual public hearing starts, NOAA will describe the virtual public hearing logistics. NOAA will then start the public comment part of the virtual public hearing and will call on speakers on a first come/first served basis through the raised hand function of Adobe Connect. NOAA will then unmute the person speaking. Each speaker will have three minutes to speak on the application (AMR application on April 21, 2026, and SeaX application on April 22, 2026). If a speaker does not respond when they are called on, NOAA will move to the next speaker. At the three-minute mark for each speaker, NOAA will mute that speaker. Speakers cannot allot their time to another speaker. Once all speakers have spoken, or at the scheduled end of the virtual public hearing, whichever is earlier, NOAA may end the virtual public hearing. NOAA retains discretion to extend the virtual public hearing if appropriate and feasible. NOAA will record each hearing and will include a transcript of each hearing on the appropriate public docket for each of the applications on the regulations.gov website at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0034 for the AMR application and at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NOS-2026-0035 for the SeaX application. The names provided by each speaker will also be published as part of the transcripts.

The virtual public hearings do not replace the process for submission of written comments. NOAA will not respond during the hearings to oral comments or questions. To ensure full consideration by NOAA, oral comments must be in English. Comments that are not in English may not be transcribed or considered by NOAA.

( printed page 13823)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bryan Cole, 301-233-2998, bryan.cole@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On August 7, 2025, NOAA received an amended application from AMR for a license to conduct seabed mining exploration activities within the seabed area beyond national jurisdiction generally known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. NOAA also received an amended application from SeaX on August 10, 2025. AMR and SeaX are both subsidiaries of American Metal Resources Inc. NOAA has determined that these applications are fully compliant with the applicable information requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations. Under DSHMRA, NOAA shall publish notice of all license applications and, subject to applicable public disclosure limitations, interested persons are afforded the opportunity to examine the relevant application materials and to submit written and oral comments to NOAA. NOAA has determined that the AMR and SeaX applications and their associated supplementary documents are the relevant materials for examination during the notice of application. 30 U.S.C. 1426(a)(1). These applications and supplementary documents are electronically available at the locations listed in the ADDRESSES section. Please note that the statements made in the applications and supplementary documents do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the views of the U.S. Government. The applications also contain maps and coordinates of proposed exploration areas, portions of which may conflict with areas over which an earlier-in-time applicant has priority of right. NOAA has determined that AMR and SeaX only have priority of right for issuance of licenses in areas that do not conflict with an earlier-in-time applicant.

(Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1426(a)(1).)

Neil A. Jacobs,

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

[FR Doc. 2026-05599 Filed 3-20-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-08-P

Published Document: 2026-05599 (91 FR 13822)