TMC pushes US seafloor mining hub amid widening losses

Deep-sea mining hopeful The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) reported on Friday a wider annual loss for 2025 as it advances plans for a US-based polymetallic nodule processing hub and takes steps to strengthen its regulatory position.

TMC ended 2025 with $117.6 million in cash and a fourth-quarter net loss of $40.4 million, or $0.08 per share, compared with $16.1 million a year earlier, as higher share-based compensation and administrative costs weighed on results. 

For the full year, net loss widened to $319.8 million, reflecting a $131 million increase in NORI royalty liability (tied to future revenue from its deep-sea mining project in the Pacific Ocean) and a $38 million non-recurring charge tied to revised sponsorship agreements.

“In my time leading TMC, I’ve never felt better about our pathway to production because of our financial, strategic, and permitting position,” CEO Gerard Barron said, citing stronger policy support in the US, new partners and progress on feasibility work. He added the company expects to maintain solid liquidity, with about $154 million projected by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Project’s economics

An independent report from Deep Sea Mining Canada, Greenpeace International and Mining Watch Canada said TMC is unlikely to generate profits in the near term. Dr. Steven H. Emerman, a consultant specializing in evaluating the environmental impacts of mining, said the company’s economic analysis does not align with SEC guidance, which requires assessments to be based on mineral reserves alone — the only economically mineable portion of a resource.

“By contrast, the economic analysis in The Metals Company’s prefeasibility study is based on 51 million wet metric tonnes of reserves plus an additional 113.1 million wet metric tonnes of resources,” Emerman said, adding that even when including resources, the project fails to meet the technical, financial and regulatory thresholds expected of a credible mining development.

TMC could not be reached at the time of this article’s publication.

TMC is positioning itself to anchor a US-based processing industry, securing exclusive negotiations for a 1,466-acre site at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, where it aims to develop a 12-million-tonne-per-year processing and refining facility. The project remains contingent on US government support, while the company continues to assess a capital-light tolling option in Japan.

The strategy comes as the US and its allies look to secure critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign processing, particularly from China. A recent US-Japan agreement to accelerate commercially viable deep-sea mining, along with updated NOAA regulations to streamline permitting, could support TMC’s path to production.

Full throttle

Operationally, TMC marked a key regulatory milestone this month after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) deemed its consolidated deep-seabed mining application in substantial compliance. The decision advanced the company’s sought-after permit to explore and extract minerals from the Pacific Ocean floor.

The application expands the potential mining area in the Clarion Clipperton Zone to about 65,000 km², with an estimated 619 million tonnes of wet nodules and additional upside.

TMC is also partnering with Mariana Minerals, a software-based minerals project developer and operator, to advance feasibility work and integrate AI-driven process controls for its proposed Texas facility. The move reflects a push toward more capital-efficient, technology-enabled project development, the company said.

Looking ahead, TMC expects its newly created unit, The Metals Royalty Co. to begin trading next month under the ticker TMCR, with TMC retaining roughly a 25% stake and options to repurchase a significant portion of associated royalties over time.