- The Metals Company successfully concluded Environmental
Expedition 5E, the latest campaign in its $75 million multi-year
deep-sea research program to establish a rigorous environmental
baseline and characterize the potential impacts of the Company’s
proposed polymetallic nodule collection operations
- Scientists on board used a suite of cutting-edge technologies
including a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and seafloor landers to
sample abyssal megafauna, and to gather critical data on deep-sea
ecosystem function
- The researchers involved represent some of the world’s leading
marine science institutions including the UK National Oceanography
Centre, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Marine
Technology (JAMSTEC), Natural History Museum (London), Heriot-Watt
University and the University of Gothenburg.
The Metals Company (NASDAQ: TMC) (the “Company” or “TMC”), an
explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic
nodules, today announced the completion of its latest offshore
research campaign, Environmental Expedition 5E, a targeted sampling
campaign of both benthic and pelagic fauna with wider
investigations to characterize ecosystem function on the abyssal
seafloor.
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The completion of the six-week expedition — the Company’s fifth
environmental campaign in the last twelve months — marks the latest
offshore campaign required to develop an environmental baseline of
the Company’s proposed operating environment in the Clarion
Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean and characterize the
potential impacts of its proposed nodule collection operations to
source critical battery metals from deep-sea polymetallic nodules.
In 2022, the Company will conduct an initial Prototype Collector
Vehicle manoeuvrability test in the Atlantic Ocean, followed by
pilot collection system trials in the CCZ later in the year.
Aboard the Maersk Launcher were researchers from some of the
world’s leading marine science institutions including the UK
National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Science & Marine Technology (JAMSTEC), Natural History Museum
(London), Heriot-Watt University and the University of Gothenburg,
who deployed a range of cutting-edge technologies including a
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and an array of seafloor
landers.
Over the course of more than 390 ROV operational hours,
researchers from the UK National Oceanography Centre conducted
visual observations of over 30-square-kilometers of seafloor,
capturing more than 35,000 high-resolution images and extensive
video data which will be used to identify megafauna at depths of
4,000 meters. Whereas prior campaigns utilized randomised boxcore
sampling to obtain macrofaunal samples, the technologies used for
Expedition 5E allowed the team to conduct highly targeted sampling
of benthic macro and megafauna and to focus on species of
particular scientific interest.
To explore the gelatinous communities that occupy the midwater
column , the pelagic team led by JAMSTEC supplemented traditional
sampling methods such as nets with ROV mounted video to conduct 130
video transects at various depths, and used specialized D-samplers
and the ROV’s suction sampler to collect specimens.
A team led by Heriot-Watt University used an array of seafloor
landers, including seabed respirometers and baited traps and
cameras, to collect a wide range of data to assess ecosystem
function on the abyssal seafloor. In total, just under 1,200 tissue
and specimen samples were collected throughout the campaign,
contributing to a variety of baseline studies including DNA and
morphological taxonomy, population genetics, ecotoxicology and
ecosystem function.
Gerard Barron, CEO & Chairman of The Metals Company, said:
“With five research campaigns under our belts in the last twelve
months, the all-star research teams we’ve brought together are
helping build a high-resolution picture of the potential impacts of
collecting nodules. This data will enable our engineering and
project teams to optimize our activities for low impact and ensure
that we lift the nodules to the surface with the lightest possible
touch.”
Planet’s largest known source of battery metals
TMC’s NORI-D nodule project — recently ranked as the #1 nickel
project in the world by Mining.com — is the first in the Company’s
project development pipeline. In January, The Metals Company
published an upward revision to the nodule resource reported within
the NORI-D area held by its subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.
(NORI), improving resource confidence from ‘inferred’ to
‘indicated’ status. Resource tonnage increased by 7% over the
reported area from 320Mt inferred to 341Mt indicated. The positive
conversion rates arising from infill sampling grid with quality box
core sample data are high compared to the typical outcomes from
infill sampling of terrestrial mineral deposits.
As countries invest in large-scale clean energy transition
programs and begin to phase out internal combustion engines,
hundreds of millions of tons of critical battery metals will be
needed to decarbonize the world’s energy and transport systems,
according to the International Energy Agency. As noted in a recent
report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, polymetallic
nodules can “substantially change the supply outlook for several
critical materials,” including nickel and cobalt.
About The Metals Company
TMC the metals company Inc. (The Metals Company) is an explorer
of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules,
on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy
transition with the least possible negative environmental and
social impact and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal
economy. The company through its subsidiaries holds exploration
rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion
Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International
Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru,
Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga. More information is available at
www.metals.co.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this press release are not historical
facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe
harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied
by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,”
“predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook” and
similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or
trends or that are not statements of historical matters. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release include,
without limitation, TMC’s expectations with respect to the success
of its research campaign Environmental Expedition 5E, the results
or outcomes of the campaigns and expeditions and the data generated
during Environmental Expedition 5E respectively. These
forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.
Most of these factors are outside TMC’s control and are difficult
to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but
are not limited to: regulatory uncertainties and the impact of
government regulation and political instability on TMC’s resource
activities; changes to any of the laws, rules, regulations or
policies to which TMC is subject; the impact of extensive and
costly environmental requirements on TMC’s operations;
environmental liabilities; the impact of polymetallic nodule
collection on biodiversity in the CCZ and recovery rates of
impacted ecosystems; TMC’s ability to develop minerals in
sufficient grade or quantities to justify commercial operations;
the lack of development of seafloor polymetallic nodule deposit;
uncertainty in the estimates for mineral resource calculations from
certain contract areas and for the grade and quality of
polymetallic nodule deposits; risks associated with natural
hazards; uncertainty with respect to the specialized treatment and
processing of polymetallic nodules that TMC may recover; risks
associated with collective, development and processing operations;
fluctuations in transportation costs; testing and manufacturing of
equipment; risks associated with TMC’s limited operating history;
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; risks associated with TMC’s
intellectual property; and other risks and uncertainties, including
those in the “Risk Factors” sections, included in the final
prospectus and definitive proxy statement, dated and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 12, 2021
relating to the business combination, in TMC’s Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, filed by TMC
with the SEC on November 15, 2021, and in TMC’s other future
filings with the SEC. TMC cautions that the foregoing list of
factors is not exclusive. TMC cautions readers not to place undue
reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date made. TMC does not undertake or accept any obligation
or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its
expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances
on which any such statement is based except as required by law.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220105005578/en/
Media | media@metals.co Investors |
investors@metals.co Dan Gagnier | Gagnier Communications |
tmc@gagnierfc.com
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