TMC Subsidiary NORI Commences Monitoring of the Environmental Impacts of Pilot Nodule Collection System Trials in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone
October 05 2022 - 8:00AM
The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) (the “Company” or “TMC”), an
explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic
nodules, today announced that a multidisciplinary team of
independent scientists from leading research institutions around
the world and industry-leading contractors has commenced the next
phase of an extensive environmental baseline and impact monitoring
campaign in preparation for the Company’s subsidiary NORI’s ongoing
pilot nodule collection system trials in the NORI-D area of the
CCZ.
Aboard a dedicated 103-meter-long monitoring vessel, scientists
recently conducted pre-disturbance monitoring studies on a
sub-section of the NORI-D exploration area to establish an
environmental baseline before NORI’s offshore strategic partner,
Allseas, tests a system consisting of a prototype nodule collector
at the seafloor connected to a riser system to bring nodules to the
surface production vessel, Hidden Gem.
Researchers use a range of high-tech equipment including bespoke
tools developed by MIT, Scripps and Sequoia Scientific to
characterise the behaviour of sediment plumes generated by the
prototype collector on the seafloor; three dedicated moorings,
current meters with acoustic modems to provide real-time seafloor
current data and a large array of other specialized equipment which
together represents the most extensive suite of instruments ever
deployed for a single program in the deep ocean. The current
campaign requires the coordination of 250 people across three
vessels and also marks the initial trials of components of TMC’s
Adaptive Management System — being developed in partnership with
Kongsberg Digital — which is expected to enable near-real-time 3D
visualization in the deep sea and the simulation and analysis of
the impacts of NORI’s proposed operations at depths of 4kms.
The Company’s Environmental Program Manager, Dr Michael Clarke,
said: “Testing of a fully integrated nodule collection system is a
landmark event in the progression of our nascent industry. The
environmental data we collect from the test will be key to defining
and quantifying the key environmental impacts of our nodule
collection process, which up to this point have been subject to
speculation and conjecture.”
Having established a baseline of the NORI-D collector test area,
scientists will proceed to monitor the environmental impacts of
deployment and testing of the fully integrated nodule collection
system. They will also undertake post-collection surveys to compare
the status of the environment before and after the test. The data
collected, together with many terabytes of existing baseline data
collected by NORI throughout 16 offshore campaigns, will form the
basis of NORI’s application to the International Seabed Authority
for an exploitation contract, which the Company expects to submit
in the second half of 2023.
Last month NORI announced that it received the ISA’s
recommendation to commence its pilot nodule collection system
trials in the CCZ after its review of the Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan
(EMMP). Trials of prototype nodule collectors have been
successfully conducted by several ISA contractors including BGR and
GSR in the recent years. NORI’s tests will mark the first time an
integrated nodule collection system — including nodule riser — has
been trialled in the Clarion Clipperton Zone since the 1970s, when
oil, gas, mining and industrial majors including Shell, BP, Rio
Tinto (Kennecott), US Steel, INCO (Vale) and Sumitomo successfully
conducted pilot test work, collecting over 1,500 tons of
nodules.
About The Metals CompanyThe 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 StatementsCertain 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 review and approval of
our Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and other required
approvals by the International Seabed Authority, the development
and use of an ecosystem-based management and monitoring plan (EMMP)
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
as well as the Company’s Form 10Q filed with the SEC on August 15,
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.
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