Back in April, we reported that U.S. President Donald Trump signed a key executive order without much fanfare, aiming to boost the country’s deep-sea mining industry as well as enable the stockpiling of deep-sea metals in a bid to counter China's dominance in rare earths and battery minerals supply chains. The order redirected his administration to expedite mining permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act and also streamline permit issuance for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The administration is also required to work with…