en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that the deep-sea mining application submitted by Vancouver-based The Metals Company through its U.S. subsidiary TMC USA is fully compliant with relevant regulatory requirements. The next step involves releasing a draft environmental impact statement for public comment, and the company expects this to enable it to obtain a seabed mining license in the first quarter of 2027.

Legal analysis indicates that this mining activity could potentially cause Canada to violate international law. The company may become the first to commercially exploit the international seabed area under a controversial U.S. executive order framework that bypasses United Nations oversight.

As global demand for critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and rare earths continues to grow, governments are increasingly turning their attention to deep-sea mineral resources beyond their national borders and coastlines. Of particular interest are billions of tons of polymetallic nodules scattered on the seabed at depths of four to six kilometers below the ocean surface, which are widely enriched with these strategic mineral elements.

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