28 March
The Deep Sea Mining Campaign has condemned
The Metals Company’s (TMC) announcement
that it will seek deep-sea mining permits through the
United States as a cynical, desperate attempt to
stay afloat, not a credible step
forward.
“This is a company floundering
under pressure and trying to buy time,” said Andy
Whitmore, Finance Advocacy Officer at the Deep Sea Mining
Campaign. “TMC’s last-minute pivot to the U.S. system is
a red flag — one driven by investor panic, financial
stress, and a complete disregard for
multilateralism.”
TMC’s timing, just hours before
its investor earnings call and one day before the
International Seabed Authority (ISA) is set to discuss how
it will deal with a potential mining application from TMC
(through its sponsoring state Nauru) is no coincidence. This
is about pressure, not progress.
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By proposing to use
the U.S. Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA)
even though the U.S. is not party to the UN Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) TMC is not only trying to apply
undue pressure to the ISA, but also attempting to circumvent
international customary law and sidestep global scrutiny. In
doing so, it opens itself up to a backlash from investors
and customers alike.
They’re waving around a
potential U.S. permit system as if it’s a legitimate
alternative to the international process. It’s not. It’s
smoke and mirrors.
Financial panic behind the
pivot
A closer look at TMC’s Q4 2024 earnings
paints a picture of a company in crisis. By focussing its
quarterly earnings call on this news, TMC downplayed core
financials and the technological shifts that are reducing
the need for nickel and cobalt in batteries suggesting it is
struggling to maintain confidence and
liquidity.
”TMC made a loss of over $81 million last
year, and is still burning through cash,” said
Whitmore.
“Whether it survives as a company comes
down to whether it can quickly obtain a licence to mine.
Even setting aside the political ramifications, there is no
guarantee of a licence nor even a hint of a timeline for
mining. And given the backlash they’ve likely triggered,
they may have opened themselves up to even more insecurity”
said Whitmore.
Despite their optimism, TMC’s
own annual report filing at the SEC admits this new U.S
strategy introduces “conflicting regulatory
requirements”, “political
instability”, and “no
assurances” that any commercial rights will be
granted, ever. (1)
TMC also hinted at applying for
licenses in the same areas currently linked to its Pacific
sponsors Nauru and Tonga, raising serious questions about
transparency, shared benefits, and regional sovereignty. If
U.S. licenses potentially overlap with ISA licenses or
override Pacific partnerships, what does that say about how
TMC views its so-called allies?
“This isn’t about
sustainability; it’s about staying solvent,” says
Whitmore. “TMC will do anything to stay solvent. They have
never cared about sound science, good governance, or the
Pacific. This is about money, pure and simple.”
We
call on governments to reject this reckless attempt to start
mining in international waters through any means. More than
ever it emphasises why a global moratorium on deep-sea
mining is the only responsible path forward. The deep ocean
is not a bargaining chip for failing businesses.
(1)
TMC’s 2024 10-K annual filing (SEC) acknowledges
serious regulatory uncertainty:
“Pursuing
this pathway will likely introduce new uncertainties… such
as differing and potentially contradictory environmental,
permitting and legal requirements… The announcement of
this strategy may cause additional regulatory and political
instability… and negatively impact our interactions with
the ISA.”
— TMC
10-K Filing, March
2025
