NOAA Determines TMC USA’s Consolidated Deep-Seabed Mining Application is in Substantial Compliance
Rhea-AI Summary
TMC (Nasdaq: TMC) announced on March 9, 2026 that NOAA has determined TMC USA’s consolidated deep‑seabed mining application is in substantial compliance with DSHMRA regulations.
The consolidated application expands the commercial recovery area from ~25,000 km2 to ~65,000 km2, cites an estimated 619 million tonnes of wet nodules and a potential exploration upside of 200 Mt, and uses NOAA’s streamlined review to incorporate exploration data into commercial permitting.
Positive
- NOAA determined TMC USA’s consolidated application is in substantial compliance
- Commercial recovery area increased from ~25,000 km2 to ~65,000 km2
- Estimated resource of 619 million tonnes of wet nodules with 200 Mt potential upside
- First submission under NOAA’s consolidated application process enabling a more efficient permitting timeline
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – TMC
On the day this news was published, TMC gained 9.42%, reflecting a notable positive market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +4.3% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 11 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement added approximately $224M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $2.60B at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
TMC fell 3.86% with slightly elevated volume, while key peers showed mixed moves and only one momentum peer (VZLA) was down -3.999999910593033%, suggesting a stock-specific reaction to the NOAA decision.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 02 | Listing preparation | Positive | +1.8% | Form F-1 filing for proposed direct listing on Nasdaq. |
| Jan 22 | Permitting expansion | Positive | +1.8% | First consolidated NOAA application expanding CCZ recovery area to 65,000 km². |
| Jan 21 | Regulatory rule change | Positive | +13.3% | NOAA final rule enabling consolidated exploration and recovery applications. |
| Nov 13 | Earnings and update | Negative | -1.7% | Q3 2025 results highlighting large net loss and operating loss. |
| Nov 06 | Earnings call notice | Neutral | -7.8% | Scheduling of Q3 2025 corporate update conference call. |
TMC’s stock has generally moved in the same direction as major regulatory and permitting news, with only minor divergence on routine corporate events.
Over recent months, TMC has focused on U.S. regulatory alignment and deep-seabed permitting. On Jan 21, 2026, NOAA’s modernized rule and the plan to use a consolidated process coincided with a 13.31% gain. The Jan 22, 2026 filing expanding the CCZ recovery area to 65,000 km² saw a positive reaction, as did the Mar 2, 2026 registration filing. By contrast, the Nov 13, 2025 Q3 update and related conference-call announcement drew negative moves, reflecting sensitivity to financial results versus permitting milestones.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock moved +9.4% in the session following this news. A strong positive reaction aligns with TMC’s history of favorable moves on U.S. permitting milestones, such as the 13.31% gain on NOAA’s rule change. Today’s confirmation that the consolidated application is in substantial compliance reinforces earlier steps expanding the CCZ area to 65,000 km² with 619 Mt in estimated nodules. Investors would need to weigh this against past losses and financing needs disclosed in prior filings when assessing durability.
Key Terms
polymetallic nodules technical
exploration license regulatory
programmatic environmental impact statement regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
- Determination of substantial compliance marks a key step in the U.S. regulatory process for exploration and commercial recovery of polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Zone
- TMC USA’s consolidated application lodged earlier this year covers areas previously applied over in April 2025 and increases the commercial recovery area from ~25,000 to ~65,000 km2, with an estimated resource of 619 million tonnes (Mt) of wet nodules and potential exploration upside of an additional 200 Mt
- NOAA’s updated regulatory framework allows applicants with exploration-phase data to submit a consolidated application for both an exploration license and commercial recovery permit, supporting a more efficient permitting timeline
NEW YORK, March 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or the “Company”), a leading developer of the world’s largest resource of critical metals essential to energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure, today announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has determined that the consolidated application submitted by the Company’s subsidiary, The Metals Company USA LLC (“TMC USA”), for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations.
Earlier this year, TMC USA submitted a consolidated application for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit for polymetallic nodules in international waters of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. The application was filed under NOAA’s new consolidated application and review process and represents the first submission of its kind. It covers a ~65,000 km2 exploration and commercial recovery area in the CCZ, compared to a commercial recovery area of ~25,000 km2 in TMC USA’s initial commercial recovery permit application from April 2025. Pursuant to DSHMRA and its implementing regulations, NOAA has determined that TMC USA’s consolidated application is in substantial compliance with the requirements of the U.S. regulations.
The consolidated application process provides a more efficient regulatory timeline by allowing exploration-phase environmental, geological and engineering data to be incorporated directly into the commercial recovery review process. Meanwhile, TMC USA's exploration license applications (TMC USA A & TMC USA B) are moving along as expected with public comment periods now completed.
Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, said: “NOAA’s determination reflects the depth of work our team and partners have put into understanding this resource and how it can be responsibly developed. After more than a decade of environmental research, successful offshore trials and commercial-scale metallurgical processing, we believe polymetallic nodules can provide a new and lower-impact source of critical metals for the U.S. We welcome the streamlined consolidated review process and look forward to the next stages.”
TMC USA’s application is informed by more than a decade of environmental baseline studies, scientific research and offshore engineering conducted by the Company and its partners, building one of the most comprehensive datasets ever assembled on polymetallic nodules and their surrounding ecosystems.
NOAA has played a central role in advancing scientific understanding of deep seabed mining impacts since the 1970s, including conducting environmental research cruises in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, monitoring early nodule collection trials and publishing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement covering the area that included the CCZ in 1981. The agency issued implementing regulations under DSHMRA for exploration licenses in 1981 and commercial recovery permits in 1989 and has maintained an active licensing program since that time.
About The Metals Company
The Metals Company is a developer of lower-impact critical metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure with net positive impacts compared to conventional production routes and (2) trace, recover and recycle the metals we supply to help create a metal commons that can be used in perpetuity. The Company has conducted more than a decade of research into the environmental and social impacts of offshore nodule collection and onshore processing. More information is available at www.metals.co.
Contacts
Media | media@metals.co
Investors | investors@metals.co
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as believes, could, expects, may, plans, possible, potential, will and variations of these words or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company’s strategy to pursue commercial recovery of seafloor polymetallic nodules under the U.S. regulatory regime; the implications of NOAA’s determination that TMC USA’s consolidated application is in substantial compliance with the requirements of DSHMRA and its implementing regulations; the anticipated review of the consolidated application submitted under NOAA’s regulations under DSHMRA; the expected initial operations of the Company in the event the consolidated application is approved; the size of the exploration and commercial recovery area covered by the consolidated application and the estimated resource potential within that area; the expected biological communities and near-bottom sediment plume dynamics in the mining sites; the results of the PFS, including project economics, capital and operating cost projections, expected production volumes, recoveries and grades; and the anticipated commercial development upon approval of the consolidated application. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among other things, NOAA’s review of the consolidated application and any determinations made during that review, including with respect to the scope of any exploration license or commercial recovery permit that may ultimately be granted; the outcome and timing of regulatory reviews by NOAA under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 and the regulations promulgated thereunder; the ability to obtain an exploitation contract from the International Seabed Authority or permits from the U.S. government; risks related to the Company’s dual path permitting strategy; changes in environmental, mining and other applicable laws and regulations; the development, testing and scaling of offshore collection systems; risks related to strategic partnerships and technology sharing; uncertainties relating to processing nodules at commercial scale; the outcome of any pending or future litigation; and other risks and uncertainties described in greater detail in the section entitled Risk Factors in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27, 2025, and in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, filed on May 14, 2025, and for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 filed on August 14, 2025. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether because of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.
FAQ
What did NOAA determine about TMC USA’s consolidated application (TMC) on March 9, 2026?
How much did TMC (TMC) expand its commercial recovery area in the consolidated application?
What resource estimate did TMC (TMC) report for the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the application?
What is NOAA’s consolidated application process and why does it matter for TMC (TMC)?
What is the next regulatory step for TMC (TMC) after NOAA’s substantial compliance finding?
