The Metals Company

Canadian deep sea mining company

TMC the metals company Inc.

Trade name

| The Metals Company
Formerly| DeepGreen Metals
Company type| Public

Traded as

* Nasdaq: TMC

Founded| 2011; 14 years ago (2011)
Headquarters| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Website| metals.co

TMC the metals company Inc.,[1] doing business as The Metals Company, formerly DeepGreen Metals, is a Canadian deep sea mining exploration company.[2] The for-profit company focuses on the mining of polymetallic (nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese) nodules[3][4] in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific.

## History

[edit]

DeepGreen Metals was founded in 2011. That same year, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) granted exploratory contracts for polymetallic nodules and polymetallic sulphides in the international deep seabed Area to Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI), sponsored by the Republic of Nauru, and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (TOML), sponsored by Tonga.[5] NORI was and continues to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Metals Company (at the time, DeepGreen Metals).[6] The company would later acquire TOML.

In 2021, DeepGreen Metals merged with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp (SOAC), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a $2.9 billion deal that enabled DeepGreen to go public. The resulting company was renamed The Metals Company and began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker "TMC."[7] In June 2021, NORI’s sponsoring state, the Republic of Nauru, informed the ISA of its intent to begin exploiting deep sea minerals, which required the ISA to finalize and adopt regulations for deep-sea mining within two years.[8] In March 2022, The Metals Company, through its subsidiary NORI, submitted an Environmental Impact Statement for its planned integrated collection system test in the Clarion Clipperton Zone.[9] Following an open stakeholder consultation, NORI was granted permission from the ISA to start trials collecting nodules rich in nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese on the NORI-D area.[10] Since first receiving an exploratory contract in 2011, The Metals Company has conducted 22 offshore research campaigns on the NORI exploration area as part of its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.[11]

### NORI Project

[edit]

Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Metals Company.[6] In 2011, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) granted a polymetallic nodule exploration contract to NORI, sponsored by the government of Nauru, for an area covering 74,830 square kilometres in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).[5] In June 2021, Nauru notified the ISA of NORI’s plans to submit an exploitation application for the NORI area, which according to Section 1, Part XV of the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, gave the ISA a two-year time frame to complete the adoption of rules, regulations and procedures necessary to facilitate the approval of deep-see mining applications.[6][12][13] As of July 2023, the ISA is required to consider and provisionally approve any applications for deep sea commercial exploitation based on the current fourth draft regulations.[14]

## Criticism

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In 2021, when The Metals Company was formed through a merger between DeepGreen Metals and Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp, Industry observers questioned the company's "green" positioning.[4][15] Baird Maritime noted that The Metals Company had no revenue or production as of April 2021, and highlighted the company's risky commercialization efforts: "Nobody has successfully managed to commercially harvest the nickel, copper, manganese, and cobalt from the nodules in 4,500 metres of water since interest was first stimulated in seabed mining in the 1970s."[16] The Wall Street Journal noted that CEO Gerard Barron previously backed another deep sea mining company, Nautilus Minerals, that "lost a half-billion dollars of investor money, got crosswise with a South Pacific government, destroyed sensitive seabed habitat and ultimately went broke".[4]

Many scientists expressed concerns over the risks of deep-sea mining.[17][18] In response to DeepGreen's efforts in Nauru, over 400 scientists signed a statement in opposition, alleging that it would result in the “loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning that would be irreversible on multi-generational timescales.”[17][19] In 2021, DeepGreen published an open letter defending its practices after four BMW, Volvo, Google, and Samsung SDI supported a World Wildlife Fund call for a moratorium.[20] In November 2023, The Metals Company published an open letter to advocates of ocean conservation, calling for open dialogue on deep-sea mining, emphasizing environmental responsibility, transparency, and collaboration to balance sustainability with resource needs for the energy transition.[21] In February 2024, Seaver Wang, ocean scientist and Co-Director of Climate and Energy at the Breakthrough Institute, published an article arguing for “open mindedness toward seafloor mining” given the various potential advantages over land-based mining, and warning that “calling for immediate moratoriums on deep-sea mining is not only premature, but a circumvention of constructive dialogue and negotiation.”[22] This view was later supported by the Federation of German Industries – which represents 38 industrial sectors, including automotive – who argued that “a precautionary pause or a unilateral moratorium will neither lead to less extraction of raw materials in the deep sea nor to more environmental research or the development of high environmental protection standards”, and that small-scale operations should begin promptly to allow for the collection of further impact data.[23]

The Metals Company says the harvesting in the ocean is less damaging than the land-based mining activities. Opponents to deep sea mining counter that the damage to the fragile ecosystem at the bottom of the ocean is irreversible and such mining is no guarantee that land-based mining will be slowed; however, a review of 11 separate seafloor disturbance experiments and test mining work shows positive – but not full – recovery for fauna after 26 years.[24] Opponents say the ocean floor contains sea life that does not exist elsewhere and should not be disturbed.[25] The speed of life and development on the ocean floor is very slow, disturbances, even minor, may have long-lasting effects.[26]

Right now, however, there are no established regulations or environmental standards in place. The Metals Company says it’s leaving ample time for those rules to be finalized, but opponents say the company is bolting ahead of the collective efforts to come to a consensus about regulating the deep seas. [25]

New research also sheds new light on the effect of the polymetallic nodules on the sea floor. They have an effect on the amount of oxygen in that part of the marine environment, and removing the nodules has effects that are completely unknown.[27]

In 2024, the company was subject to scrutiny on an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.[28] Oliver’s episode has since been criticised by some researchers and ocean scientists, who warned that his segment repeated exaggerated misconceptions commonly circulated by opponents of deep-sea mining, especially regarding carbon storage and sediment disturbance. Studies have shown the ocean's surface, not the seafloor, plays a much larger role in carbon absorption, while the potential disturbance of sediment during nodule collection is likely minimal according to most estimates.[29]

## References

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1. ^ "XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
2. ^ "Mining's Tesla moment: DeepGreen harvests clean metals from the seafloor". MINING.COM. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
3. ^ "A Mining Startup's Rush for Underwater Metals Comes with Deep Risks - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. 24 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
4. ^ a b c Foldy, Justin Scheck, Eliot Brown and Ben (June 24, 2021). "Environmental Investing Frenzy Stretches Meaning of 'Green'". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021 - via www.wsj.com.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. ^ a b "Seabed Council Approves Four Applications For Exploratory Contracts With Authority In Deep Seabed Area". International Seabed Authority. July 20, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
6. ^ a b c Reid, Helen (June 29, 2021). "Pacific island of Nauru sets two-year deadline for U.N. deep-sea mining rules". Reuters. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
7. ^ "DeepGreen to go public in $2.9bn SPAC deal | Sustainability". Mining Global. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
8. ^ Aingimea, Lionel (25 June 2021). "Nauru Letter to ISA President" (PDF). Republic of Nauru. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
9. ^ "ISA Legal and Technical Commission concludes its review of the environmental impact statement submitted by NORI for the testing of a polymetallic nodule collector under its contract for exploration in the Area". International Seabed Authority. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
10. ^ "The Metals Company Subsidiary, NORI, Receives ISA Recommendation to Commence Pilot Nodule Collection Trials in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean". The Metals Company. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
11. ^ "NORI-D Project – Nauru Ocean Resources Inc". The Metals Company. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
12. ^ "Nauru requests the President of ISA Council to complete the adoption of rules, regulations and procedures necessary to facilitate the approval of plans of work for exploitation in the Area". International Seabed Authority. 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2025-04-16.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
13. ^ "Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982". United Nations. 1982-12-10. Retrieved 2025-04-16.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. ^ Mehta, Angeli (August 3, 2023). "Policy Watch: After fraught global meeting, future of deep-sea mining still hangs in balance". Reuters. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
15. ^ Woody, Todd (2021-06-23). "A Mining Startup's Rush for Underwater Metals Comes with Deep Risks". Bloomberg Green. Archived from the original on 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
16. ^ Bosch, Hieronymus (2021-04-06). "COLUMN | Ocean Mining: DeepGreen to list and become The Metals Company as major car makers and WWF press for moratorium on seabed mineral extraction [Offshore Accounts]". Baird Maritime. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
17. ^ a b "The Race for EV Parts Leads to Risky Deep-Ocean Mining". Yale E360. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
18. ^ "Deep-sea mining: An environmental solution or impending catastrophe?". Mongabay Environmental News. 2020-06-16. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
19. ^ "Deep-Sea Mining Science Statement". Deep-Sea Mining Science Statement. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
20. ^ "DeepGreen hits backs at firms opposing seafloor mining". MINING.COM. 2021-04-01. Archived from the original on 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
21. ^ The Metals Company (November 2023). "Open Letter to Ocean Conservation Community: Engage with us on real-world data and trade-offs". The Metals Company. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
22. ^ Wang, Seaver (14 February 2024). "Sparing the Land by Collecting Minerals at Sea". The Breakthrough Institute. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
23. ^ Dr. Steinicke, Stefan and Wachter, Matthias (23 October 2024). "Extraction of raw materials in the deep sea". Retrieved 20 March 2025.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
24. ^ Jones, Daniel O. B.; Kaiser, Stefanie; Sweetman, Andrew K.; Smith, Craig R.; Menot, Lenaick; Vink, Annemiek; Trueblood, Dwight; Greinert, Jens; Billett, David S. M.; Arbizu, Pedro Martinez; Radziejewska, Teresa; Singh, Ravail; Ingole, Baban; Stratmann, Tanja; Simon-Lledó, Erik; Durden, Jennifer M.; Clark, Malcolm R. (February 8, 2017). "Biological responses to disturbance from simulated deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining". PLOS ONE. 12 (1): e0171750. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1271750J. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171750.
25. ^ a b |CNBC: the metals company puts out controversial timeline for deep sea mining
26. ^ Niner, Holly J.; Ardron, Jeff A.; Escobar, Elva G.; Gianni, Matthew; Jaeckel, Aline; Jones, DAniel O.B.; Levin, Lisa A.; Smith, Craig R.; Thiele, Torsten; Turner, Philip J. (1 March 2018). "Deep-Sea Mining with no net Loss of Biodiversity - An impossible aim" (PDF). Frontiers in Marine Science. 5: 53. Bibcode:2018FrMaS...5...53N. doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00053.
27. ^ Sweetman, Andrew K.; Smith, Alycia J.; de Jonge, Danielle S. W.; Hahn, Tobias; Schroedl, Peter; Silverstein, Michael; Andrade, Claire; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Lough, Alastair J. M.; Woulds, Clare (22 July 2024). "Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor". Nature Geoscience. 17 (8): 737. Bibcode:2024NatGe..17..737S. doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01480-8.
28. ^ "John Oliver on deep-sea mining: 'Time that we stop treating the deep ocean as something to exploit'". the Guardian. 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
29. ^ Wang, Seaver (9 July 2024). "No, Collecting Seafloor Metals Won't Wreck the Ocean Carbon Cycle". The Breakthrough Institute. Retrieved 18 March 2025.