Key points
- TMC Chief Sustainability Officer Erica Ocampo outlines the NORI-D project in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, about 1,500 miles west of the US coast, where nodules contain nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese.
- The NORI and TOML contract areas, sponsored by Nauru and Tonga, were ranked by mining.com as the world’s largest underdeveloped nickel projects and hold enough nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese to electrify the entire US passenger car fleet.
- TMC’s collector pilot test lifted 3,000 tons of nodules to the surface aboard the Hidden Gem, and the campaign also tested a first prototype digital twin for the company’s adaptive management system.
- A life-cycle assessment conducted with VMI found the NORI-D project has the lowest global warming potential compared with terrestrial nickel supply routes, and TMC plans to submit its exploitation contract application next year.
