The Metals Company and Allseas strike first seabed nodule mining deal

The Metals Company (TMC) has entered into a formal commercial agreement with offshore engineering giant Allseas to jointly develop and operate what is set to become the world's first commercial-scale deep-sea polymetallic nodule recovery system.

The agreement covers the design, commissioning and operation of a commercial-scale collection system in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean, with TMC targeting the start of offshore recovery operations by late 2027. The system is designed with a nameplate capacity of 3 million wet tonnes per year, using two collector vehicles operating in tandem at depths exceeding 4,000 metres beneath the ocean surface.

Allseas, which successfully completed a 3,000-tonne pilot nodule recovery test in 2022, will take full responsibility for procurement, integration and operation of the system, including the collector vehicles, launch and recovery systems, riser pipe, the surface vessel Hidden Gem and a transfer vessel.

Under the terms of the deal, the Swiss-based offshore contractor will fund a significant portion of the development costs, to be recovered through future production revenue. Proponents argue that seabed nodules could supply substantial volumes of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese without resorting to conventional open-pit mining, while critics caution that the environmental impacts on deep-ocean ecosystems remain poorly understood.