# NOAA Determines TMC USA's Consolidated Deep-Seabed Mining Application is in Full Compliance *2026-05-01T08:00:00-04:00* NOAA Determines TMC USA’s Consolidated Deep-Seabed Mining Application is in Full Compliance - Full compliance represents a key milestone in the regulatory approval process for TMC USA’s consolidated exploration and commercial recovery application - TMC USA’s consolidated application submitted earlier this year covers areas previously applied for in April 2025 and increases the commercial recovery area from ~25,000 to ~65,000 km2, with an estimated resource of 619 million tonnes (Mt) of wet nodules and potential exploration upside of an additional 200 Mt - NOAA’s updated regulatory framework allows applicants with exploration-phase data to submit a consolidated application for both an exploration license and commercial recovery permit, supporting a more efficient permitting timeline - Determination of full compliance represents another step along the path of regulatory milestones that the Company expects will result in a permit before the end of Q1 2027 NEW YORK, May 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or the “Company”), a leading developer of the world’s largest resource of critical metals essential to energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure, today announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has determined that the consolidated application submitted by the Company’s subsidiary, The Metals Company USA LLC (“TMC USA”), for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) is in full compliance with the requirements of the Act and its implementing regulations. The determination of full compliance follows the determination of substantial compliance in March and represents another key step in a steady, transparent cadence of expected regulatory milestones: - The consolidated application now moves into the certification stage of the review process and will be posted to the Federal Register - Following certification, a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for TMC USA’s project will be published for public comment - Following the public comment period, the EIS will be finalized and NOAA will make a final determination on whether to issue the license and permit - TMC USA expects the process will conclude before the end of Q1 2027 Earlier this year, TMC USA submitted[a consolidated application](https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=iwXdJ_yysKy11kVH_XbiekXrJAVkrwhn9WTBh9zKjyZQ2cFt6nCAOltN4XnpXBA93hHrC0krx8tonTkzTvYt-MH1WFI3TR2z-fbDtFf10CRkmCObTshNGK1tZlqSGkTwRqU_iv3yihv0TQu1iIAQnPba-IrhVr8DkLpvhuHyYPF8SKfek7YDvjUDYcX607-jmJo2BxzQrXHuFGDl1IAFD7GV9ULH9o6wC3X8mtjgfQX4QM2JOPmiVEwvKAavMzqZ_E2DD9pBXA1s6OggHMr71da3hAVBert3esx574qZPP7uMh4O5wS9NMQCfE50B5HJVyaHMa_MEthnqEtuXfYPLQIF7kOYDyZA51OIfIi2fpq-VxqBFNAczSZycxLxQF5_Tn1ixnMNh7fKvBD049fGIxDRRf9iIfgbwNlsKl5RMXvbvuvapXifqLS45OTEDR3RDqo81XXenfv2Acd2sIOCoA==)for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit for polymetallic nodules in international waters of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. The application was filed under NOAA’s[new consolidated application and review process](https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=SNTCztpYTOO_LuKDKhCkMc1tP7ro81bFCYUn3uwFSKLXhz05OfzYj6415LBBPVsRqxPkPQbRbKVGZqljTMCL_f5RQGOfDQreBlfrHrcQ7QasH8jNKFMBo85qjNd7pbPCmM6yW8MwXoCxsEE_12HOjbXi1fwp73qoshGepchsnJammdtOf5KtR5hAckYz5G_fxrrijL3pkF359Lw3ow7xzVbsj3LKDrOFG8lrgfvrsZpZl5oapBSgfpDpbjO2b5na_u0WTbd3hvLGDdk2vaNlmr0gkPgcD9TF93obo8SpQ9LHLx31L1HlJ2vrB0pgG1BV65yMt0XPv68hb-hEi7nTYjRKXZm2hDhlV9ZLfa5Iziu-fCJ3VIs8Vt9a5WmSTcJESeSpzErbtsENnO5GHkbDCRkK2zQ4OwUaw7tnrQmT0c715H_RSEzpCfjUn0wRozuqOhG4StuJOwgk1Zi_-_Hehr4qPc6sdrGAS7L9kEhpDSCFFTpB2Os06V_r1ApGL1C953NMJsy6LMq55lpkSF54Yw==)and represents the first submission of its kind. It covers a ~65,000 km2 exploration and commercial recovery area in the CCZ, compared to a commercial recovery area of ~25,000 km2in TMC USA’s initial commercial recovery permit application from April 2025. Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, said: “This determination marks an important step forward in NOAA’s transparent, rules-based process, and brings us ever closer to providing the U.S. with a new, abundant and lower-impact source of critical metals. It reflects the sheer scale of scientific, environmental and engineering effort and expertise that have been brought to bear on this project over the last 15 years, which provides us with sufficient information to move efficiently and responsibly into commercial operations under NOAA’s oversight.” The consolidated application process provides a more efficient regulatory timeline by allowing exploration-phase environmental, geological and engineering data to be incorporated directly into the commercial recovery review process. TMC USA’s application is informed by more than a decade of environmental baseline studies, sci