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American Samoa Said No to Deep-Sea Mining. The US Government Doubled The Area
The US government is moving toward the world's first commercial deep-sea mining lease sale, and it's happening in federal waters off American Samoa. In this episode, Andrew breaks down how we got here: a California startup's 2025 request to mine polymetallic nodules, the Request for Information process that followed, and the 75,000-plus public comments that came in during the 30-day comment window, with 80 to 98% opposed to mining. Despite that opposition, and despite a standing moratorium from American Samoa's own governor, the federal government expanded the proposed mining area from 18…
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