Vancouver firm seeks U.S. approval to target seabed riches

Vancouver-based company seeks regulatory approval a week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order opening up such activity in apparent violation of international law. A Vancouver-based mining company says it has submitted an application to U.S. authorities to become the first company to commercially mine the deep sea. In a news release Tuesday, The Metals Company said its U.S. subsidiary filed the application with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to mine polymetallic nodules deep in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii. It comes less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive…