New York, Jan 23, 2026, 15:30 (EST) — Regular session
- TMC shares jumped roughly 14% in afternoon trading, driven by heavy volume.
- The company revealed that its U.S. unit has submitted a consolidated application to NOAA, aiming to explore and recover metal-rich seabed nodules.
- The filing serves as an initial trial of the new U.S. regulations designed to fast-track deep-sea mining permits beyond national jurisdictions.
TMC the metals company Inc (TMC) shares jumped roughly 14% on Friday, building on a strong two-day rally. Traders zeroed in on the company’s efforts to secure a U.S. permit for mining the international seabed. The stock reached $9.66 before settling at $9.52 by 3:30 p.m. EST, with volume nearing 19.7 million shares.
The rally follows moves by U.S. regulators to streamline a process largely dormant for decades. Starting Jan. 21, a new rule offers a consolidated route for companies to apply simultaneously for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980, rather than tackling each step separately. (Federal Register)
This path to production isn’t straightforward. The Trump administration positions the move as a step to bolster U.S. access to critical minerals, but expect environmental and legal challenges. TMC CEO Gerard Barron described the new rule as “a meaningful modernization” of the U.S. framework for deep seabed nodule collection. (Reuters)
On Thursday, TMC announced in a regulatory filing that its fully owned arm, The Metals Company USA, handed in a consolidated application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They’re seeking both an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific. The filing marks a big jump, expanding the proposed permit area to about 65,000 square kilometres, up from around 25,000. The company estimates the resource at 619 million tonnes of wet nodules, with a potential additional 200 million tonnes, pointing to data suggesting they can limit impact to the mined zones. “This new application represents the culmination of more than a decade of disciplined scientific, engineering, and environmental work,” Barron said.
Polymetallic nodules lie scattered on the seabed, packed with metals like nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese — key ingredients for batteries, wiring, and industrial alloys. For TMC, the core issue is clear: secure the permit before chasing revenue.
TMC is promoting the new U.S. process as a quicker route to commercial operations. “Those amended regulations pave a pathway for faster permitting and us moving into commercial production sooner rather than later,” Barron told Reuters, adding the company aims to secure a permit by year-end. Reuters also reported that Glencore has agreed to buy metals TMC extracts from the seabed. (Reuters)
A consolidated application isn’t a guaranteed sign-off. Agencies still need to review it, and the public can weigh in. Critics warn that industrial operations on the ocean floor might inflict lasting harm that’s difficult to predict beforehand.
Traders are watching for procedural signals now: will NOAA consider the application complete enough to advance to the early review steps? And how fast will it progress toward a public hearing? Potential legal challenges or shifts in political backing could also stall the process.
Friday’s trading highlighted just how sensitive the stock is to headlines. The upcoming trigger will be NOAA’s initial rulings on the application — with a permit decision, if it happens, the company aims to land by the end of 2026.
