Strategic Minerals and the U.S. Arctic Continental Shelf

Authors

James Kraska

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The United States may seek to reduce its dependency on China for strategic minerals and rare earth elements by exploiting deposits on its continental shelf in the Arctic region. On December 19, 2023, the United States announced the outer limits of it extended continental shelf. Like other countries, the United States exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the living and non-living resources of the continental shelf, which is comprised of the sea bed and subsoil of the continental margin. The U.S. continental shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles in seven locations, including the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. Although the concept of the continental shelf historically has been associated with offshore oil and natural gas, the area presents opportunities for obtaining strategic hard minerals and rare earth elements required for an array of advanced technologies associated with national security, “green” energy, and information technologies. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea codifies the rules governing coastal State sovereign rights and jurisdiction over such minerals, although the United States is not party to the Convention. The United States suggests that it retains rights in customary international law to exploit the mineral resources of the continental shelf, but U.S. absence from the Convention presents complications. It is uncertain whether the United States is entitled to access the machinery of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a scientific body created by the Convention to make recommendations to States on the extent of their continental shelf claims. At the same time, given that that Convention reflects customary international law, the United States might be obligated to utilize the process set forth the Convention, including submitting its continental shelf data to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. As the United States weighs the economic value of strategic minerals against the environmental costs related to exploiting these resources, it also must contend with its status as a non-party to the Convention.

First Page

235

Recommended Citation

James Kraska, Strategic Minerals and the U.S. Arctic Continental Shelf, 29 Ocean & Coastal L.J. 235 (2024).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/oclj/vol29/iss2/5