TMC shares surge on high-grade alloy production

The Metals Company (Nasdaq: TMC) shares jumped 27% on Wednesday after it announced the successful production of high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate during a smelting campaign in Japan.

The test is part of an 18-month feasibility program designed to process a 2,000-tonne sample of deep-seafloor polymetallic nodules at its partner PAMCO’s Rotary Kiln Electric-Arc Furnace facility in Hachinohe, northern Japan, the company said. 

After the commercial-scale production of calcine in September 2024, PAMCO operators conducted a 14-day continuous smelting campaign in January and February 2025. They fed approximately 450 tonnes of calcine into an electric-arc furnace, producing high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate.

“Successfully converting nodules into high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate at PAMCO’s existing facility is a major milestone, eliminating the need to build new infrastructure from scratch,” Jeffrey Donald, head of TMC’s Onshore Development, said.

In November 2023, TMC signed a memorandum of understanding with PAMCO to complete a feasibility study for processing 1.3 million tonnes of wet polymetallic nodules per year into high-grade alloy and manganese silicate, key feedstock for energy infrastructure and steel production.

TMC shares traded for US27¢ apiece on Wednesday afternoon in New York, for market capitalization of US$820.5 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of 3¢ to 32¢.

Expected Trump support

TMC shares have trended higher since the beginning of the year amid growing anticipation of support for deep-sea mining under the  Trump administration.

In December, the House of Representatives passed its annual defence funding bill, which included a provision directing the Secretary of Defense to conduct a feasibility study on processing deep-sea minerals within the United States.

Members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have previously expressed support for ocean mining.

Duncan Wood, president and CEO of the California-based think tank Pacific Council, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview last month that political conditions have never been better for the U.S. to become involved in deep-sea mining.

The ocean floor is believed to hold vast reserves of metals such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt, with an estimated value ranging from $8 trillion to over $16 trillion. However, scientists caution that much remains unknown about the deep ocean and warn of potential environmental impacts on ecosystems already under threat from pollution, trawling, and climate change.

TMC, in partnership with the Republic of Nauru, plans to submit its first application to mine the seafloor on June 27, ahead of the International Seabed Authority’s second meeting in July.

The United Nations body responsible for regulating deep-sea mining is scheduled to meet in March to discuss rules and regulations for seabed mining.