TMC the metals company Inc. has reached a key regulatory milestone as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published the consolidated application submitted by subsidiary The Metals Company USA LLC for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit for the TMC USA-A area in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean.

The publication in the Federal Register follows NOAA’s determination of full compliance on April 28, 2026, and initiates public notice and review under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. The review will proceed through certification, an environmental review with a draft Environmental Impact Statement for public comment, and a final determination on issuing the exploration license and commercial recovery permit and associated Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions.

The consolidated application expands the proposed commercial recovery area to approximately 65,000 square kilometres, up from the initial 25,160 square kilometres filed in April 2025. The area holds an estimated resource of 619 million tonnes of wet nodules, with potential exploration upside of an additional 200 million tonnes.

“Publication of our consolidated application in the Federal Register is an important milestone on the permitting path under DSHMRA as it starts the clock on the public comment period that NOAA views as a prerequisite to certification. Every step toward a final regulatory decision brings us closer to potential commercial production and to a future in which the United States has greater mineral sovereignty in several critical minerals. Our confidence in the permitting process remains high and we continue to advance our first project toward commercial production in parallel with NOAA’s permitting process.”

— Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company

In parallel with the TMC USA-A application, TMC USA is advancing an exploration license application for the USA-B area. That application covers approximately 122,000 square kilometres and contains an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules. NOAA published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the USA-B application on August 17, 2026, following its certification on May 26, 2026.

The company signed a commercial agreement with Allseas on May 11, 2026, to develop and operate the first commercial nodule collection system, which will feature a nameplate capacity of 3.0 million wet tonnes per annum. Allseas expects to make subcontract awards for key long-lead items by the end of the third quarter of 2026, with system commissioning slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Read the full announcement: NOAA Publishes TMC USA’s Consolidated Application for an Exploration License and Commercial Recovery Permit for TMC USA-A in the Federal Register