Innovative agreement will have union workers processing critical minerals from seafloor nodules for production of electric car batteries
September 30 2022 - 8:00AM
Today the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and
Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) and The Metals
Company (TMC) announced that they have entered into a labor
neutrality agreement to bolster the critical mineral supply chain
and to lay the groundwork for sustainable production of electric
car batteries while creating a path to more good union jobs in the
United States.
TMC will process and eventually recycle key battery metals
responsibly collected from polymetallic nodules that lay unattached
on the seafloor in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of North
America. Battery metals, many of which are included on the US
critical mineral list, are an essential ingredient to
decarbonization and without secure supply and processing
capabilities, the American automotive industry and American jobs
underpinning the clean energy transition remain vulnerable.
Building large-scale metals processing infrastructure and
mineral supply chains in the United States will enhance national
and economic security and help ensure TMC’s processing operations
create good-paying U.S. jobs.
UAW President Ray Curry stated, “UAW members helped create
America’s middle class by bargaining agreements that lifted not
only their standard of living, but those in entire sectors of our
economy.” He adds, “we have insisted that the transition to
electric vehicles must not come at the expense of autoworkers,
their families, and communities. We commend TMC for showing
companies that the way forward should include respect for the
rights of their future workforce to join together and collectively
bargain for good wages, benefits, and working conditions.”
UAW believes that the transition to EVs demands the creation of
a strong US supply chain not only for batteries but also the
critical metals which power those batteries.
TMC Chairman and CEO Gerard Barron commented: “We are pleased to
be working hand in hand with such a forward-thinking organization
as the UAW to enable large-scale domestic metal processing and
refining facilities in the United States. The UAW has nearly a
century of collective bargaining experience in the automotive
industry and has earned a reputation for protecting workers,
protecting the environment, and fighting for justice. From making
the very first contribution to set up Earth Day to its active
position in the Civil Rights Movement, the UAW has an impressive
record of leadership on social and environmental issues.”
Nasdaq-listed TMC is the only nodule exploration contract holder
to have defined its metal resources per US SEC standards,
identifying enough nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese in situ in
two of the Company’s three exploration areas to electrify 280
million electric vehicles, equivalent to the entire US passenger
fleet. Mining.com has ranked TMC’s NORI and TOML contract areas as
the #1 and #2 largest undeveloped nickel projects in the world,
representing the largest potential alternative to the supply of
nickel which is currently dominated by Russian- and Chinese-funded
operations. Further, peer-reviewed studies suggest that the
responsible collection of polymetallic nodules, which unlike other
mineral extraction endeavors, requires no blasting, no drilling, no
digging and no forced or child labor, can significantly compress
the planetary impacts of metal production including a significant
reduction in carbon impacts, solid waste, and the elimination of
toxic tailings. The Company is aiming to locate a large-scale
processing facility producing battery materials — nickel and cobalt
sulfate and copper cathode — in the United States to support a
localized battery supply chain.For years UAW has highlighted the
supply chain vulnerabilities for battery metals and semiconductors
which severely affect the US auto industry. As metal refining, EV
battery material and cell production, and recycling centers that
will power the domestic electric automotive industry expand, the
UAW maintains the work must be done by workers’ who collectively
bargain.
UAW will help ensure that the highly skilled labor necessary to
support this sustainable vision has an opportunity to express their
voice in the workplace. TMC in turn acknowledges that future
processing employees will have the freedom to choose union
representation, and it embraces expeditious procedures to determine
majority status.
About The Metals Company:
The Metals Company is an explorer of lower-impact battery metals
from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply
metals for the clean energy transition with the least possible
negative environmental and social impact and (2) accelerate the
transition to a circular metal economy. The Company through its
subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial rights to three
polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone
of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International Seabed
Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and
the Kingdom of Tonga.
More Info Media
| media@metals.co Investors
| investors@metals.co
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this press release are not historical
facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe
harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied
by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,”
“predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook” and
similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or
trends or that are not statements of historical matters. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release include,
without limitation, statements regarding the location of any
processing facilities, as well as the design, use and accuracy of
any technology developed by TMC and its partners, agents and/or
service providers to support its operations. These forward-looking
statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could
cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed
in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are
outside TMC’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that
may cause such differences include, but are not limited to:
regulatory uncertainties and the impact of government regulation
and political instability on TMC’s resource activities; changes to
any of the laws, rules, regulations or policies to which TMC is
subject; the impact of extensive and costly environmental
requirements on TMC’s operations; environmental liabilities; the
impact of polymetallic nodule collection on biodiversity in the
Clarion Clipperton Zone and recovery rates of impacted ecosystems;
TMC’s ability to develop minerals in sufficient grade or quantities
to justify commercial operations; the lack of development of
seafloor polymetallic nodule deposit; uncertainty in the estimates
for mineral resource calculations from certain contract areas and
for the grade and quality of polymetallic nodule deposits; risks
associated with natural hazards; uncertainty with respect to the
specialized treatment and processing of polymetallic nodules that
TMC may recover; risks associated with collection, development and
processing polymetallic nodules; risks associated with TMC’s
limited operating history; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;
risks associated with TMC’s intellectual property and the validity,
use and ownership of any new technology or intellectual property
subsisting therein; and other risks and uncertainties indicated
from time to time in the Company’s Form 10K, dated and filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 25, 2022
, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in TMC’s other
future filings with the SEC. TMC cautions that the foregoing list
of factors is not exclusive. TMC cautions readers not to place
undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date made. TMC does not undertake or accept any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change
in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or
circumstances on which any such statement is based except as
required by law.
TMC the Metals (NASDAQ:TMC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
TMC the Metals (NASDAQ:TMC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024