Deep in the vast abyssal plain of the ocean floor, an underwater expanse called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean hosts what is estimated to be trillions of dollars of critical metals.
The CCZ is far from any port and expeditions cost thousands. But carpeting the seabed floor at depths of 4,000m to 5,000m are a plethora of polymetallic nodules – potato-sized balls of rock packed full of valuable metals such as manganese, iron, cobalt, and copper.
Polymetallic nodules offer the cleanest source of critical base metals.
Formed over millions of years by precipitating metals from seawater and sediment pore water, these valuable balls of metal lie unattached to the abyssal seafloor. Unlike their land ore counterparts, nodules do not contain toxic levels of heavy elements.
Producing metals from nodules has potential for nearly 100% of nodule mass to be productised and metallurgical flowsheets designed that generate no tailings and leaves almost no solid waste streams behind.
While the crushing pressure at these depths is worse than what destroyed the Titan submersible, some parts of this huge but hard-to-reach region off Nauru lays host to 40kg of nodules per square metre –adding up to trillions of dollars of important metals.
That distance and pressure from a ship makes them challenging to access. If you stacked 15 Eiffel Towers end-to-end – that’s how deep these nodule treasures lay on the seabed.
Nauru is an island nation located in the South Pacific, fringed by a coral reef that acts as the island’s main defence from rising sea levels. Colonial exploitation of its rich phosphate reserves created a legacy of environmental degradation that left the entire interior of the island uninhabitable and unsuitable for agriculture.
As a result of this legacy, Nauru is dedicated to ensuring that future extractive activities are done responsibly.
Lore of the sea
As such, earlier this month, Nauru revised and updated its commercial agreement with Canadian mining group The Metals Company (NASDAQ:TMC) for deep sea mining in international waters hosting these gems.
It’s an important development amid increasing uncertainty about the deep sea mining industry with both the US and International Seabed Authority (ISA) stating each offers a licensing pathway to mine the seabed in international waters.
The ISA is an autonomous international organisation established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 1994 agreement relating to implementing part XI of that law.
The authority is the organisation through which States Parties to UNCLOS organise and control all mineral-resources-related activities in the area for the benefit of humankind as a whole. The area covers roughly 54% of all of the world’s oceans.
Nauru and its sponsored entity, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Metals Company, an explorer of the world’s largest undeveloped resource of critical metals essential to energy, defence, manufacturing, and infrastructure, on 4 June jointly announced the signing of a revised sponsorship agreement first inked in 2017.
The agreement guarantees Nauru will continue to receive existing financial benefits, training and capacity building programs and in-country community and social programs it receives today, while ensuring that, in consideration for its continued sponsorship of NORI, Nauru will receive continuity benefits upon the commencement of commercial production by NORI or another TMC subsidiary.
President of the Republic of Nauru David Adeang says NORI and TMC have been trusted and respectful partners to Nauru throughout this pioneering journey.
“Together, we have worked to establish a responsible pathway for deep-sea mineral development-one that can serve as a model for other developing states. As a Pacific small island developing state, our identity and future are inseparable from the ocean, and we would never support any activity that risks serious harm to it. Science, not slogans, has always guided our stewardship, and we remain committed to that path,” the President says.
“We believe the world must explore new sources of critical metals if we are to address the urgent realities of climate change. For small island nations like ours, this is not an abstract concern-it’s an existential one.
“We seek practical, science-based solutions that allow us to participate meaningfully in the energy transition. We are grateful to NORI and TMC for their continued partnership and commitment to responsible development that will deliver lasting benefits to the people of Nauru.”
Since becoming the first developing state to sponsor a polymetallic nodule exploration contract in the Reserved Area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Nauru and NORI have taken a leading role in shaping the deep-sea mining industry.
Representing 22% of TMC’s estimated resources in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the NORI license area is ranked as having the largest undeveloped nickel deposit in the world.
Over the course of 22 offshore research campaigns since 2012, NORI has assembled what is touted as the world’s most comprehensive dataset of deep-sea environmental information and conducted the first integrated mining test in the CCZ since the 1970s.
“Science, not slogans, has always guided our stewardship, and we remain committed to that path”
In collaboration with independent scientists and industry contractors, NORI has gathered a wide range of meteorological and oceanographic measurements and data, including on biodiversity, deep-sea food chains, ecosystem function, geochemistry, and nutrient cycles.
This was submitted by TMC USA in an application to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in April.
The commercial recovery permit application advances TMC’s timeline ahead of its original 27 June application target.
Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company, says the company has invested over a half a billion dollars and spent more than a decade preparing for such a moment, investing in deep-sea science, engineering and technology to build the world’s most advanced deep-sea minerals platform.
“With strong support from Washington and a stable, enforceable US regulatory pathway, we look forward to delivering the world’s first commercial nodule project responsibly, transparently, and economically, and to helping power a new era of American industrial strength,” Barron says.
The Republic of Nauru says this work has generated valuable in-field impact data, ensuring that environmental management is informed by evidence and best practice. Nauru’s efforts align with the 2050 Blue Pacific Strategy – a shared vision by Pacific leaders.
“Through the sustainable use of our ocean resources – what Nauru calls the Blue Economy – the country aims to generate economic growth, improve livelihoods and create jobs, while preserving the health of our marine ecosystems for future generations,” the republic says.
President Adeang notes that as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, Nauru strongly supports the application of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) to better capture the economic and environmental risks that small island developing states face.
The President believes the development of deep-sea minerals, guided by robust science and ecological safeguards, presents an opportunity to enhance Nauru’s economic stability and resilience, with the support of responsible partners like NORI and TMC.
In accordance with the agreement, the Government of Nauru will channel the majority of the financial benefits into the Intergenerational Trust Fund of Nauru, as a strategic measure to address structural vulnerabilities and to enhance the nation’s long-term economic resilience.
The Metals Company is an explorer of lower-impact critical metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission to supply metals for building infrastructure, power generation, transmission, and batteries with net positive impacts compared to conventional production routes; and trace, recover and recycle the metals we supply to help create a metal commons that can be used in perpetuity.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: TMC
