Since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a deep-sea mining industry, businesses have raised millions from investors, and stock prices have soared. At least nine companies are in talks with the government for access to seabed minerals. Sections of the seafloor from American Samoa to Alaska could be auctioned for offshore mining this summer and through the fall. But a close look at some of the companies involved reveals uncertain track records and histories spattered with legal disputes, while major questions about how the minerals would be processed and refined remain unanswered.