The Metals Company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) has announced that its subsidiary, The Metals Company USA LLC (TMC USA), has formally initiated a process with NOAA under the US Department of Commerce to apply for exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits under existing US legislation, the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA).
Following extensive legal diligence on DSHMRA, NOAA’s implementing regulations, and other applicable environmental protection legislation, the company strongly believes that the US seabed mining code offers the greatest probability of securing a permit for commercial recovery of deep-sea mineral resources in a timely manner.
Gerard Barron, chairman, and CEO, commented, “Over the last decade, we’ve invested over half a billion dollars to understand and responsibly develop the nodule resource in our contract areas. We built the world’s largest environmental dataset on the CCZ, carefully designed and tested an offshore collection system that minimizes the environmental impacts and followed every step required by the International Seabed Authority. But, despite collaborating in good faith with the ISA for over a decade, it has not yet adopted the regulations on the exploitation of mineral resources in the area in breach of its express treaty obligations under UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement.”
TMC USA has officially requested a pre-application consultation with NOAA and is confident that the US regulatory framework offers a path forward that is both predictable and enforceable. The company remains committed to following the paths that best serve all its stakeholders.
“We believe we have sufficient knowledge to get started and prove we can manage environmental risks. What we need is a regulator with a robust regulatory regime, and who is willing to give our application a fair hearing. That’s why we’ve formally initiated the process of applying for licenses and permits under the existing U.S. seabed mining code. After extensive legal review and constructive engagement with NOAA and other officials across the U.S. government, we believe the United States offers a stable, transparent, and enforceable regulatory path. TMC USA expects to submit applications to NOAA in the second quarter of 2025.” Added Mr Barron.
To find out more, please visit www.metals.co
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