US Companies Race to Mine Pacific, Mexico Backs Moratorium

The Metals Company and American Ocean Minerals Corporation are advancing commercial deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone under a US federal fast-track permitting framework, targeting critical minerals including cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese needed for battery supply chains and defense applications. The acceleration creates a regulatory positioning decision for Mexico, which ranks 12th globally by marine area, sits near mineral-rich Pacific zones and has aligned with an international moratorium bloc pending completed environmental impact assessments.

The Metals Company has signed a commercial agreement with Swiss-based offshore engineering firm Allseas to design, commission and operate what the companies describe as the world's first commercial deep-sea nodule recovery system in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. The planned system would have nameplate production capacity of 3Mwt/y, using two collector vehicles operating more than 4km below the ocean surface, with offshore recovery operations targeted to begin by late 2027.

Under the agreement, Allseas will complete procurement, integration and operation of the full system, including collector vehicles, launch and recovery systems, riser pipe, the surface vessel Hidden Gem and a transfer vessel. The contractor will fund a high portion of costs, paid through future production revenue. Subcontract awards are targeted by the end of the 3Q26.

“This agreement with Allseas is now the contractual cornerstone of our strategic alliance,” TMC CEO Gerard Barron said. “Together, we are moving from firsts in deep-sea science and engineering towards first commercial recovery operations.”

Allseas conducted a 3,000t pilot nodule recovery test in 2022. The commercial system reflects the initial development phase outlined in TMC's preliminary feasibility study for its NORI Area D project. Nodules collected from the seabed would be transferred at sea to bulk carriers before shipment to onshore processing facilities.

The deal follows a determination by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this month that TMC's deep-sea mining application was fully compliant, moving the CCZ project closer to a potential final permit by early 2027.

A Crowded and Consolidating Sector

AOMC's deployment of its refurbished 196-foot vessel, the Anuanua Moana, reflects the same commercialization push. The ship, built in 2007 and acquired by AOMC in 2022, carries advanced sonar systems, subsea tracking technology and a remotely operated vehicle capable of operating at depths of up to 6,000m for high-resolution imaging and sample collection. Onboard laboratories dedicated to geology, chemistry and biology allow for real-time analysis of seafloor materials.

The vessel has already mapped a 23,500km2 license area in 16 days and contributed to a mineral resource estimate of more than 500 million wet tonnes of polymetallic nodules. AOMC's exploration program spans the Cook Islands' exclusive economic zone and US-regulated international waters, including areas in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and the Penrhyn Basin. In US-regulated waters, AOMC has met compliance requirements for two exploration applications under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, covering more than 1.4 billion t of inferred resources.

The sector is also undergoing rapid consolidation. Last month, AOMC acquired Odyssey Marine Exploration through a reverse takeover, creating a combined company valued at approximately US$1 billion. The all-stock transaction includes more than US$150 million in private placement financing, following a US$75 million pre-public raise completed in February. The combined company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker AOMC, with former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese serving as chairman and Mark Justh as CEO.

Both companies are operating within a framework established by a July 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump directing agencies to fast-track offshore mining permitting, part of a broader effort to reduce US dependence on China for critical minerals including cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese.

Regulatory and Environmental Tensions

The commercial momentum runs parallel to unresolved international governance questions. The International Seabed Authority, the United Nations body responsible for regulating mining beyond national jurisdiction, has been negotiating a commercial mining code while approximately 40 countries have backed a moratorium on deep-seabed mining, citing unresolved environmental and benefit-sharing questions.

Greenpeace International has argued that companies seeking US licenses while holding ISA contracts are in breach of obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Legal analysts have warned that unilateral national licensing could bypass equitable benefit-sharing and environmental protection mechanisms built into the international framework.

Mexico, which ranks 12th globally by marine area and sits near mineral-rich Pacific zones, has aligned with the moratorium bloc. After initially supporting acceleration of ISA regulatory processes in July 2023, Mexico joined 25 other nations in November 2023 in calling for a suspension of seabed mining until adequate environmental impact studies are completed. The country has stated it will not endorse international licenses until those conditions are met, though it remains open to future collaboration within an established international legal framework.

Supporters of nodule collection argue it offers a lower-impact alternative to land-based mining, which involves blasting, deforestation and significant water use. Critics maintain that the environmental impacts on deep-ocean ecosystems remain insufficiently understood to proceed at commercial scale.