Deep Sea Minerals to list on Nasdaq

Deep Sea Minerals (CSE: SEAS) said it intends to list on Nasdaq exchange as part of its long-term growth strategy through having a more diversified investor base.

The Canadian company filed on Friday its application with the Nasdaq for the planned uplisting. If approved, it would join The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) and Odyssey Marine Exploration (Nasdaq: OMEX) as the third seabed exploration company publicly traded on the exchange.

The Nasdaq listing, the Vancouver-based Deep Sea Minerals says, is intended to support the company’s long-term capital markets strategy “by increasing its visibility with US institutional and retail investors, broadening its potential shareholder base, and enhancing trading liquidity over time.”

“We believe that pursuing a US exchange listing represents an important step in Deep Sea Minerals’ long-term growth strategy,” James Deckelman, Deep Sea Minerals’ CEO, commented in a press release.

Shares of Deep Sea Minerals jumped to an all-time high of C$1.79 following the uplisting announcement. The Vancouver-based company has a market capitalization just north of C$80 million ($58 million).

“A listing on the Nasdaq is expected to enhance our visibility within the global investment community, broaden access to institutional and retail investors, and support increased liquidity for our shareholders as we continue advancing our development objectives,” Deckelman added.

Early stages

The company currently has no active projects but aims to secure a portfolio of seabed mining concessions, setting sights on both the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (CCZ) and the Cook Islands.

The CCZ, comprising an approximately 4.5-million-sq.-km abyssal plain in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico, is the most extensively studied deep-sea mining region. The region is said to host the world’s largest known deposit of polymetallic nodules — potato-sized rocks targeted by mining firms for their rich concentrations of critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese. TMC is currently the furthest ahead in the exploration efforts, having recently been approved for a licence by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The US Geological Survey estimates there are at least 21 billion tonnes of these nodules lying on the CCZ seafloor at 3,500-to-6,000-metre water depths. TMC’s licence would cover only a fraction of that total (estimated at around 1 billion tonnes).

The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone is also said to contain an abundance of polymetallic nodules, estimated at 6.7 billion tonnes by a study conducted by Congress.

So far, Deep Sea Minerals is only in the stages of early engagement with selected governments and regulatory bodies in the Pacific Ocean region to assess potential pathways for its exploration initiatives, it said.