New York, Jan 11, 2026, 17:30 EST — The market has closed.
- TMC shares slipped on Friday, ahead of U.S. markets reopening Monday.
- A director revealed an options exercise in an insider filing submitted late last week.
- The immediate focus stays on NOAA’s review schedule for TMC USA’s seabed mining applications.
TMC the metals company’s shares slipped 3.1% on Friday, ending at $7.00. After the closing bell, director Greig Andrew Carlyle reported exercising options to purchase 622,111 shares, as detailed in a Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Why it matters now: the stock is turning into a test of whether Washington will greenlight deep-sea mining in U.S. waters. The company is pushing for exploration licenses under U.S. law instead of waiting for the U.N.-backed International Seabed Authority to finalize its regulations—a move that’s sparked pushback from environmental groups.
NOAA has opened the public-comment period for two exploration license applications filed by The Metals Company USA, LLC, with a deadline for written feedback set for Feb. 23. According to the Federal Register notice, the agency also plans to hold two virtual public hearings in late January.
TMC, headquartered in Vancouver, specializes in exploring deep-sea minerals, focusing on polymetallic nodules found in the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone. These nodules hold nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese—key metals for electric-vehicle batteries and power infrastructure.
Carlyle’s filing reflected an options exercise, where he paid predetermined prices to convert options into common stock, rather than buying shares on the open market. The Form 4 also disclosed the issuance of various “special shares” that convert into common stock only if the stock surpasses a series of price targets over time.
Yet the risks are clear: the U.S. regulatory path is mostly uncharted territory in today’s markets, and seabed mining is fraught with political and legal challenges. A recent Congressional Research Service report pointed out that NOAA hasn’t granted any commercial recovery permits. It also warned that greenlighting mining beyond the international framework could spark legal and diplomatic headaches, while highlighting rising global resistance to deep-sea mining.
Traders face a straightforward short-term setup. Watch for headline-driven moves tied to the public-comment record, fresh agency updates, or SEC filings revealing insider and early backer activity.
NOAA has scheduled virtual hearings for Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.
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