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NOAA Certifies The Metals Company USA’s USA B Exploration License Application
Certification represents a key milestone in the regulatory approval process for TMC USA’s exploration license application The Company’s USA B application area
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n\nCertification represents a key milestone in the regulatory approval process for TMC USA’s exploration license application\nThe Company’s USA B application area covers ~122,000 km2 of seafloor containing an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules with high grades of nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, and several rare earth elements\nNOAA will now begin preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for TMC USA’s planned exploration activities in the USA B area\nThe certification follows NOAA’s recent determination that TMC USA’s consolidated application for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit for the USA A area is in full compliance with the requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) and its implementing regulations\n\nNEW YORK, May 28, 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 USA B exploration license application submitted by its U.S. subsidiary, The Metals Company USA LLC (TMC USA), had been formally certified by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).\nThe USA B application area covers ~122,000 km2 of seafloor and hosts an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules based upon TMC’s Technical Report Summary for the Initial Assessment published in August 2025. In addition to the USA B exploration license application, TMC USA is also advancing a consolidated application for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit for the USA A area, which was submitted to NOAA on January 22, 2026, and later determined to be fully compliant on April 28, 2026.\nGerard Barron, CEO and Chairman of The Metals Company commented: “Today’s certification of our USA B exploration license application marks another important milestone in NOAA’s transparent, rules-based process and we look forward to the development and publication of an EIS. Exploration is a critical step to unlocking the transformative potential of the untapped nodule resource for the United States.”\nCertification represents a key step in a steady cadence of expected regulatory milestones:\n\nNOAA is expected to soon publish a Notice of Intent to Prepare an...