The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) and Japan’s Pacific Metals Co. (PAMCO) have successfully produced about 500 tonnes of high-temperature material (calcine) during the first phase of commercial processing polymetallic nodules.
A 2,000-tonne sample of nodules was heated to remove moisture and initiate the transition of minerals to their metallic forms during the process at PAMCO’s rotary kiln electric-arc furnace facility in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture.
In the coming months, the calcine will be transferred to PAMCO’s demonstration plant to begin smelting into a high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate, which are feedstocks for the production of lithium-ion batteries, electrical infrastructure and steel, TMC said.
“It’s very exciting to see the world’s first commercial-scale processing of our nodules,” Jeffrey Donald, TMC’s head of onshore development said in a release. “With decades of experience in processing nickel laterite at an industrial scale in its Hachinohe facility, PAMCO is the perfect partner to help optimize our near-zero-solid-waste flowsheet in preparation for commercial production.”
Last June, the company announced that it had successfully produced the world’s first cobalt sulphate derived exclusively from seafloor polymetallic nodules. The cobalt sulphate was generated during bench-scale testing of TMC’s hydrometallurgical flowsheet design with SGS Canada at its facility in Lakefield, Ont.
Formerly DeepGreen Metals, TMC has been working towards its plan to mine the ocean floor amid growing opposition from environmental and civil society groups.
In July, Deep Sea Mining Campaign (DSMC), The Ocean Foundation (TOF) and Blue Climate Initiative (BCI) filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against TMC. They accused the company of significantly misleading investors, government officials and the public through material misrepresentations and omissions.
TMC has said the nodule deposits at the Nori Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) polymetallic project, located 4,000 meters deep in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, host four measured megatonnes, 341 indicated megatonnes and 11 inferred megatonnes. It is estimated that 21 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules are resting on the ocean floor in the CCZ.
Shares of TMC fell 0.8% to US7¢ on Monday, valuing the company at US$300.3 million.
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