The leader of a radical deep-sea mining startup spent years invoking global warming to drum up interest in harvesting avocado-sized rocks rich in electric vehicle battery metals from the ocean floor.
“We want to help the world move away from fossil fuels by minimizing climate change and environmental impact,” Gerard Barron, then-CEO of Australia-based DeepGreen, told a 2019 meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a UN-affiliated body that has spent a decade debating how to regulate mining in untouched, biodiverse deep-sea ecosystems across international waters.
Today, Barron’s pitch has changed dramatically. Testifying earlier this year before a congressional committee in Washington, DC, he made no mention of climate, instead emphasizing critical minerals. His renamed company, The Metals Company (TMC), would help “secure energy security and industrial competitiveness for generations,” Barron declared, warning that “China is hot on our heels.”
The strategy worked. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to fast-track US deep-sea mining permits, sparking what the administration called a “gold rush” to “counter China’s growing influence”—even if it meant flouting international law. The US plans ISA-approved tests in the Pacific within a year using two seabed mining machines.
With China dominating land-based critical mineral supply chains, TMC successfully tapped into the US president’s quest for “de-Chinafied” metals—a demand manifest in bids for control over Canada and Greenland. Lobbying policymakers and the White House, TMC repeatedly stressed that the ocean floor holds the largest estimated reserves of cobalt, nickel, and other minerals in the form of polymetallic nodules—black, potato-sized rocks littered by the billions across the Pacific abyss.
Trump instantly cleared the way for a race to mine the deep, despite unproven technology and no commercial track record. At the ISA’s annual meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, delegates on Monday condemned the move, with China’s representative lambasting “unilateral hegemonic acts” attempting to “replace global standards with American ones.”
Within days of the order, TMC’s US subsidiary, registered in Canada, filed the first-ever application to mine international waters, covering areas it licenses from the ISA. South Korea’s top metal processor promptly invested $85 million. TMC’s Nasdaq-listed shares hit a 52-week high of $8.19 on Thursday after languishing below $1.
Meanwhile, Silicon Valley startup Impossible Metals has applied for a US permit to explore nodule mining in American waters near Samoa, eyeing $1 billion in funding. On July 14, a Lockheed Martin executive told the Financial Times the defense giant is in talks to open its ISA-licensed Pacific zone to seabed miners. A spokesperson did not confirm the report but “applauded the Trump administration’s efforts to secure critical mineral sources, including from oceans.”
On Monday, Kingston delegates demanded a report scrutinizing ISA-licensed miners potentially breaching contractual obligations—a clear nod to TMC and others eyeing US-backed international mining.
But Trump’s deep-sea rush faces major hurdles. Though TMC tells investors it could mine within a year of permitting, scaling technology for 4,000-meter depths may take years. Its competitiveness against land mining is unknown, and processing economics are dubious amid metal price swings and rising battery tech that bypasses nodules. The US lacks metallurgical capacity, and non-Chinese nations with nodule-refining potential are years from production.
“Given rapid battery tech evolution, future critical mineral demand is highly uncertain,” a recent Rand Corporation report noted, adding that “the entire seabed mining sector faces fierce opposition from nations and groups concerned about environmental harm.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Countries hosting TMC’s processing tech partners are among the ISA’s 169 members (plus the EU), which oppose unilateral mining. Under pressure, Japan’s Pacific Metals, initially set to process TMC’s nodules, told investors it would “await finalized international rules before operating.”
“All parties have a legal duty to ensure deep-sea mining occurs only through the ISA,” said Amsterdam maritime lawyer Samantha Rowe.
On Friday, ISA delegates met behind closed doors to address TMC’s plans. Barron, formerly part of a Pacific island delegation backing TMC’s ISA contract, skipped this year’s meeting but posted on X: “Amid Kingston’s theatrics, let’s be clear…the US has every right to develop international seabed resources.”
TMC told Bloomberg Green it has a “solid legal-regulatory foundation,” citing recent investments. But May SEC filings warned that US permits lack international recognition, potentially affecting “logistics, processing, and market access.”
At 3 a.m. one September 2022 morning, 1,000 miles southwest of Mexico, an 80-ton yellow machine crunched across the seabed on tank-like treads, spewing sediment plumes. During a two-month TMC trial, the 38-foot prototype vacuumed 3,000 tons of nodules up a pipe to the surface vessel *Hidden Gem*.
TMC called it a success. But even with US permits this year, commercialization remains distant given technical and legal barriers.
Dutch-owned, Swiss-registered Allseas developed the world’s only working nodule-mining prototype. As TMC’s equipment supplier and second-largest shareholder, it must build larger versions for round-the-clock, high-pressure operations to meet TMC’s targets.
But US permits require American-made/-flagged ships. How the firms will comply is unclear. Allseas said full-scale tech could take two years to design but would proceed only “once all regulatory conditions are met.” The Dutch company, holding its own ISA license, faces domestic pressure to quit backing unilateral mining.
TMC declined to comment during permit review. But May 14 filings show it is “evaluating US vessel” options. America has no *Hidden Gem*-class mining ships, and just eight oceangoing bulk carriers (capable of hauling nodule loads) remain—seven nearing retirement, per a 2024 US Maritime Administration report.
Impossible Metals’ “Eureka” nodule collector, designed to hover above the seabed using AI-powered claws to pick barren rocks (scientists estimate 30%-40% of deep-sea life depends on nodules), delayed Pacific testing to post-2027, with commercial mining unlikely before the early 2030s. Its US waters permit bid avoids ISA jurisdiction. “Far less controversial,” said CEO Oliver Gunasekera, “but still time-intensive.”
In a Pasadena lab, Viridian Biometals—an Impossible Metals spinoff—tackles a challenge as deep as the mining itself: extracting metals from nodules.
Nodules form over millennia as seawater minerals accrete in layers around whale bones or shark teeth. Unlike land deposits, their nickel, cobalt, and copper particles are scattered in manganese oxide matrices rather than concentrated ores.
“No commercial precedent exists for processing material with all four elements,” said Lyle Trytten, a veteran metallurgist and president of Canada’s Trytten Consulting.
Viridian scientists are engineering rock-breathing microbes to oxidize nodules, releasing metal ions into solution. “The entire process is ambient-temperature, low-energy, and toxin-free,” said CEO Eric Markris. Commercial viability studies will take years. “We admire Viridian’s work but doubt it’ll be ready when needed,” admitted Impossible Metals’ Gunasekera.
If TMC mines under US permits, federal law mandates domestic processing. Beyond Viridian’s early efforts, America lacks this capacity.
Building a single nodule refinery could cost billions and take a decade, said Niels Verbaan, metallurgy chief at Switzerland’s SGS, partly due to handling novel feedstock.
A July 4 US tax bill allotted $5.5 billion for critical mineral supply chains. But since universities axed metallurgy degrees in the 1980s, expertise has cratered. “We’re decades behind. Catching up will be brutal,” said Colorado School of Mines professor Corby Anderson. Immigration curbs further hinder foreign engineer recruitment.
China, heavily invested in the sector, could retrofit existing plants or build dedicated nodule facilities. A 2024 Wilson Center report found China processes 74% of global cobalt ore, while 97% of nickel refining capacity sits outside North America. China also commands over 80% of capacity to refine these into premium EV battery materials.
Even if US miners gain access, non-Chinese facilities may resist retooling for nodules. “These plants aren’t idle—they’re running full tilt,” noted Trytten.
TMC found one overseas processor willing to adapt. Last year, Japan’s Pacific Metals smelted 2,000 tons of TMC’s 2022 nodule haul into 500 tons of intermediate product, then nickel-cobalt-copper alloy by February.
“These plants are costly, complex, and high-risk,” said TMC’s onshore development head Jeffrey Donald. “Leveraging existing assets and operators is about de-risking.” Pacific Metals aims to shift from ore to nodule processing by 2029.
TMC also partnered with Korea Zinc, which is assessing nodule refining—a process TMC has only lab-tested.
