African Mining February 2022 | Page 9

GLOBAL NEWS •

The Metals Company ( TMC ), an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules , successfully concluded its Environmental Expedition 5C in November 2021 . This was the latest campaign in its USD75-million multi-year deep-sea research program to establish an environmental baseline and characterize the potential impacts of the company ’ s proposed nodule collection operations .

In collaboration with Maersk Supply Services and researchers from the University of Hawaii , Texas A & M University and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology ( JAMSTEC ), the company achieved a world first by successfully sampling pelagic biota at depths of 4,000 meters , marking the first deep MOCNESS net tow in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean . The team was able to trigger these nets to retrieve biological samples providing a glimpse into the deep-sea communities that may inhabit the dark , high-pressure regions of the Clarion Clipperton Zone ( CCZ ) where the Company ’ s nodule collector system test will take place . These latest insights build upon the baseline dataset collected on the company ’ s NORI-D block , sponsored by the Republic of Nauru .

Researchers from the University of Hawaii employed a range of technologies including a 10m ² MOCNESS system ( Multiple Opening / Closing Net and Environmental Sensing ), comprising a series of nets with varying mesh sizes that open and close at controlled depths in the water column to capture a profile of biological communities at each depth layer .

Alongside the MOCNESS system , researchers leveraged hydrographic rosettes to determine the physical properties of the water column , generating insights into local salinity , temperature , oxygen , turbidity , nutrient profiles , and trace metal content , which will help characterise the inter-relationships between the physical environment from the surface to the abyssal depths , and the animals that live there .

“ We hear the call for further research into the impact of collecting deep-sea nodules and since 2011 we have been doing just that ,” said Gerard Barron , chairman and CEO of The Metals Company . “ I am immensely proud of the contribution we are making to society ’ s knowledge of the deep-sea and that , since COVID first impacted us all in early 2020 , we have been able to complete nine environmental research campaigns in collaboration with the world ’ s leading ocean research institutions .”

Facing rough seas with swells as high as six meters , both the logistics and research teams overcame significant challenges to complete the scope of the work program on time and without any accidents or incidents .

The final Expedition 5E will mark the completion of the offshore campaigns that will form the basis of the environmental baseline work .

Why the expedition ? 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 including nickel , cobalt , copper , and manganese will be needed to decarbonize the world ’ s energy and transport systems . In the U . S ., the Biden Administration recently elevated nickel to ‘ critical ’ status — singling it out as one of three battery metals deemed ‘ most critical ’ to US interests .

TMC ’ s NORI-D nodule project one of the world ’ s top ranked nickel projects , is the first in the The Metals Company project development pipeline . In January 2021 , the company published an upward revision to the nodule resource converted from inferred to indicated category within the NORI-D area held by its subsidiary , Nauru Ocean Resources Inc ., ( NORI ), improving resource confidence from inferred to indicated status . Resource tonnage was increased by 7 % over the reported area from 320Mt inferred to 341Mt indicated . The estimated in situ resource on the seafloor in the exploration contract areas held by TMC ’ s subsidiaries is sufficient for 280 million electric vehicles – roughly the entire U . S . passenger vehicle fleet . The development of this resource offers an abundant , low-cost supply of critical raw materials for EV batteries and wiring with an expected lower lifecycle ESG impact than conventional land-based mining .

The company ’ s dual mission is to : ( 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 .

The development of this resource offers an abundant , low-cost supply of critical raw materials for EV batteries and wiring with an expected lower lifecycle ESG impact than conventional land-based mining .