TMC and PAMCO Achieve a New Nodule Processing Milestone, Unlocking Critical Energy & Steelmaking Materials at Existing Facilities

• TMC and PAMCO have successfully demonstrated the production flowsheet for its initial commercial production using a 2,000-tonne sample of nodules collected during TMC subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.’s 2022 test mining, at PAMCO’s commercial operating facility in Hachinohe, Japan
• Following the commercial-scale production of calcine in September 2024, PAMCO engineers fed calcine material into the company’s 3,000 kVA DC electric-arc furnace where it was smelted into high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate products
• The manganese silicate is used to produce silicomanganese for steelmaking, which studies show has significant cost advantages over conventional manganese ores
• Over a 14-day continuous campaign, PAMCO successfully demonstrated the process, collected and analyzed data, confirmed process control set points, monitored furnace integrity, and gained operational experience
• This demonstration supports anticipated definitive processing agreements as TMC prepares to submit the world’s first exploitation application for commercial production
• The achievement further validates TMC’s capital-light approach by utilizing PAMCO’s existing facility, which has been in commercial operation since 1965, eliminating the need for upfront onshore capital expenditures

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or the “Company”), an explorer of the world’s largest undeveloped resource of critical battery metals, today announced that it had successfully produced a high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate during a smelting campaign, run as part of the 18-month feasibility program designed to process a 2,000-tonne sample of deep-seafloor polymetallic nodules at its partner PAMCO’s Rotary Kiln Electric-Arc Furnace (RKEF) operating facility in Hachinohe, Japan.

Following the recovery of 3,000 tonnes of nodules during 2022 test mining by TMC’s subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI) from its exploration contract area D in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), 2,000 tonnes were delivered to PAMCO’s RKEF plant to go through a feasibility program consisting of calcining and smelting campaigns. Following the commercial-scale production of calcine in September 2024, over a 14-day continuous smelting campaign in January and February 2025, PAMCO operators fed approximately 450 tonnes of calcine material into a 3,000 kVA DC electric-arc furnace and produced high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy and manganese silicate [see video]. By utilizing existing processing capacity with minimal modifications to existing equipment, TMC can avoid the high costs and risks associated with building new processing plants, while demonstrating the feasibility of integrating processing of CCZ nodules into established metallurgical operations.