Key points
- CEO Oliver Gunasekara says demand for nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese could rise 500% by 2050, and cites Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates of 384 new mines needed within a decade to meet electric vehicle demand alone.
- He notes new land-based nickel deposits now average around 0.2% grade, take about 17 years from discovery to production, and that China controls roughly 70% of critical mineral supply.
- Impossible Metals is testing its second-generation Eureka 2 underwater vehicle off Florida’s Blake Plateau, using AI and cameras to pick up polymetallic nodules individually and leave visible marine life undisturbed.
- The planned production vehicle, Eureka 3, would carry 16 robotic arms and a six-tonne payload per four-hour mission, with a 100-vehicle fleet targeting about six million tonnes of production a year by 2030.
