Mining and Oil & Gas Machinery Manufacturers NAICS 333131, 333132

Apr 23, 2025 - Mining the Seabed

• The Trump administration is reported to be considering an executive order that would accelerate deep-sea mining in international waters by allowing companies to bypass a United Nations-backed review process, Mining.com reports. According to sources cited by Reuters, the EO would affirm the US’s right to extract critical minerals from the ocean floor, enabling companies to bypass the International Seabed Authority and seek permits directly from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Such an EO could give mining companies a formal permitting process to complete and avoid the potential perception that they aim to mine the ocean's floors without any oversight, Reuters reported, adding the EO it would mark Trump’s latest attempt to capture international deposits of nickel, copper, and other critical minerals following recent efforts to tap resources in Greenland and Ukraine. Remotely-controlled giant robots could be used to extract polymetallic nodules from the seafloor.
• The highly-concentrated US coal mining industry is undergoing further consolidation as a result of the merger of two of the largest US coal mining companies. Amid a wave of industry deal making, CONSOL Energy and Arch Resources merged in January to form Core Natural Resources (CNR) with large and non-overlapping thermal and metallurgical coal operations, according to a press release. Newly-merged CNR owns 11 mines, including Pennsylvania’s Bailey, Enlow Fork, and Harvey mines and the largest underground mine complex in North America. “Through this transformational combination, we have created a global leader exceptionally well-positioned to compete and succeed in two significant, high-potential market segments – the global metallurgical and global high-rank thermal coal markets,” the company’s CEO Jimmy Brock said in a statement. Ongoing consolidation among coal producers and declining demand for coal shrinks the customer pool for makers of mining machinery and equipment and increases leverage for buyers.

• The second Trump administration is expected to “significantly prioritize” building more mines, processing facilities, and refineries in the US, as opposed to the Biden administration's focus on international cooperation to reduce US reliance on foreign supply chains for critical minerals, according to Gregory Wischer, founder of critical minerals consultancy Dei Gratia Minerals. Wischer also predicts that the Trump administration will continue and accelerate bipartisan policies strengthening US mineral supply chains. “In particular, I think you can expect the [Trump] administration to focus heavily on domestic onshoring of all parts of the mineral supply chain, especially mineral extraction,” Wischer told Mining Technology (MT) after the election. Trump’s approach will likely entail streamlining the permitting process and imposing tariffs to incentivize domestic mineral production, Wischer adds. Also, Trump’s more relaxed approach to environmental regulation is likely to benefit the mining and fossil fuel sectors, per MT.
• Employment by mining and oil and gas machinery manufacturers shrank 3.6% in January compared to a year ago, while average wages at agricultural, construction, and mining machinery companies rose 7.3% over the same period to $30.86 per hour, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by mining and oil and gas machinery manufacturers has tumbled about 45% over the past decade amid steeply rising wages. Sales and new orders are falling. In February, new orders for mining oil and gas field machinery fell 11.5% year over year but rose 12.7% from January, per the Census Bureau.