Can you fill us in on the technology behind deep sea nodule collection? What’s involved in this process?
Polymetallic nodules sit on top of the sediment on the abyssal seafloor at depths of over 4km. Our engineering partner and major shareholder, Allseas, has developed a tracked collector robot that crawls across the thick, clay-like sediment and uses jets of seawater to gently lift nodules into the vehicle. Inside, most of the sediment is separated and ejected behind the vehicle, while the nodules are transported to the surface using compressed air. Originally developed and tested in the 1970s by US companies, this technology has since evolved through major advances in subsea robotics and offshore engineering to dramatically reduce environmental impact.
The polymetallic nodules are highly concentrated with a number of the critical minerals needed to serve the energy transition. Can you break this down for us?
The nodules contain uncommonly high grades of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese—all in a single ore. 1Bt of nodules, which is less than what TMC holds in contract areas based on SEC-compliant resource statements, could supply 81 years of nickel,165 years of cobalt, 456 years of manganese and four years of copper, at current US consumption levels. These four metals are critical components of the modern economy. You can’t make steel without manganese, or stainless steel without nickel. They are also in high demand for batteries, clean energy technologies, and myriad other applications—including in sectors deemed strategic in the US and elsewhere, such as infrastructure, aerospace, defense, and future technologies.
What are some of the next steps with your project?
While the importance of this milestone has yet to be picked up by the media, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) confirmation of the substantial compliance of our two exploration licence applications is a major step forward for our project and shows that the regulator is ready to receive and begin the review process. We expect similar confirmation of compliance for our commercial recovery permit application within the next 30 days.
Also on our to-do list: our prefeasibility study for our commercial recovery area, expected next quarter. Though we had hoped to publish this late last year, we decided to hold off as the implications of pursuing the US permitting route became clear. We’re now taking a bit more time to update the study to reflect the new assumptions made possible by the US pathway and to better convey the full potential of our broader estimated resource.
Deep sea mining has gained significant attention lately, with President Trump recently signing an executive order to kickstart the industry. What does this mean for The Metals Company and the industry overall?
Firstly, the US seabed mining code was established in the 1980s and is not dependent on any executive action. The Deep Seabed Hard Minerals Resources Act (1980) and implementing regulations from NOAA established a legal framework for US entities to extract minerals in international waters, outside of the jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority, as the US consciously declined to ratify UNCLOS due to provisions on deep sea mining.
After persistently missed deadlines at the International Seabed Authority, the recent US Executive Order has enabled our company and this exciting industry to take some historic leaps forward. America’s role as a pioneer in this industry has long been overlooked, but the Executive Order reminded the world of the scale of its work over many decades and of the robust regulatory framework already in place.
With nodules recognized as a strategic resource by the US government—and regulatory processes underway following our submission of the world’s first commercial recovery application under the US seabed mining code—we believe this pathway offers the strongest probability of receiving the green light in a timely, transparent, and legally robust manner, providing a clear route to responsible commercial operations.
