President Donald Trump was presented with a small gold-coloured ball during a State Department roundtable on mining, prompting a visibly surprised reaction. The item was described as a replica of a deep-sea nodule, drawing attention to the administration’s interest in securing supplies of critical minerals.

The event accompanied an announcement of a $100 million investment in US mining universities. American Ocean Minerals chairman Tom Albanese said the replica represented natural seabed formations containing rare metals, which can take millions of years to form in deep ocean areas.