en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is advancing the next phase of assessment for offshore critical mineral development off the coast of Virginia, issuing a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) to gauge industry interest and solicit public input on potential lease areas.

The notice will be published in the Federal Register on June 23, opening a 30-day public comment period, marking an early stage in BOEM's planning process. The agency emphasized that issuing the RFI does not represent a decision to proceed with a lease sale.

This move is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to expand domestic production of critical minerals, which are used in manufacturing, defense systems, and emerging technologies, while also helping to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

"Offshore mineral resources off Virginia offer a pathway to reduce foreign dependence and strengthen America's strategic position by building secure domestic supply chains," said Matt Giacona, BOEM's Acting Director. "This solicitation aims to identify locations for responsible marine mineral development to drive innovation, support production growth, and sustain future progress."

BOEM stated that the RFI is seeking input from industry, state and local governments, tribal nations, and other stakeholders on potential lease areas, mineral resources of interest, environmental considerations, and interactions with existing ocean uses such as fisheries, shipping, and offshore energy development.

The agency stressed that current efforts focus on exploration and data collection, not large-scale industrial development. BOEM noted that these early activities are temporary, involve no permanent structures, and are similar in scope to surveys conducted for beach nourishment projects that have long taken place nearshore, aimed at collecting data to better understand domestic mineral resources and inform future decisions.

This action follows BOEM's December 2025 announcement that it was considering offshore mineral leasing in Virginia, after receiving an unsolicited lease sale request from Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration. The company expressed interest in developing heavy mineral sands and phosphate deposits believed to exist on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf off Virginia.

The announcement marks only the third offshore mineral leasing action in over three decades, following President Trump's executive order "Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources," which directed federal agencies to accelerate the development of domestic strategic mineral resources.

BOEM oversees approximately 3.2 billion acres of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. As policymakers seek alternative sources of manganese, nickel, copper, rare earth elements, and other materials critical to advanced manufacturing and national security, the agency is increasingly focusing on offshore critical minerals. The Virginia initiative is separate from BOEM's parallel efforts in the Pacific, where the agency has been assessing seabed mineral opportunities off American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Any future lease sale in Virginia would require additional regulatory steps, including identifying potential lease areas, issuing proposed and final lease notices, conducting environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, and complying with other federal environmental and cultural heritage protection laws.

Public comments on the RFI will be accepted through Regulations.gov under docket number BOEM-2026-0100, with a deadline of July 23. The initiative may also draw attention from environmental groups and ocean users concerned about potential impacts on marine ecosystems and competing offshore activities. BOEM stated that any future mineral extraction would be subject to its existing environmental review framework and regulatory oversight.

For now, the agency said the focus remains on understanding what resources may exist off Virginia's coast and whether there is sufficient interest to advance the leasing process.

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