TMC US permit compliance on CCZ nodules: key project and risk notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
TMC the metals company has cleared a key US hurdle after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ruled its consolidated exploration and commercial recovery permit application for deep-sea polymetallic nodules “in substantial compliance” with revised Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act regulations. The submission, the first under President Trump’s streamlined regime, covers about 65,000 km² in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and an estimated 619 million tonnes of wet nodules, with a further 200 million tonnes of upside. Greenpeace International argues the move breaches TMC’s International Seabed Authority contracts and urges the ISA to consider non-renewal.
Technical Brief
- TMC’s new filing replaces an April 2025 application that was prepared under the previous two-step regime.
- TMC cites over a decade of environmental baseline work, offshore mining trials and commercial-scale metallurgical processing.
- The revised application more than doubles the commercial recovery area from 25,000 km² to about 65,000 km².
- Market reaction was immediate, with TMC’s share price touching US$6.00 and market cap ~US$2.42 billion.
Our Take
With a 619 Mt wet nodule resource and a US$2.42 billion market capitalisation, The Metals Company is being priced far below the in-situ value implied for land-based copper projects such as the US$5.25 billion Taca-Taca, underscoring how regulatory and ESG risk are still heavily discounted into deep-sea assets.
Critical minerals and cobalt pieces in our mining database are still dominated by land-based projects in Argentina, Burkina Faso and other jurisdictions, so TMC’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone focus sits at the edge of current project pipelines rather than within the mainstream supply build-out.
The reference to a regional hub holding 23% of non-Chinese aluminium supply highlights how concentrated processing capacity already is; if TMC’s nodules move forward, the strategic question will be whether processing is anchored in the US, NZ/South Pacific or existing Asian hubs, which will shape who captures most of the value chain.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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