Cook Islands nodule field - photo taken within Cook Islands EEZ. Photo: Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority
A deep sea mining company leading the charge for the budding future industry is being accused by environmental groups of changing its corporate branding from fueling the green transition to supporting security and defence.
However, The Metals Company (TMC) said the claims were not true and were another attempt to try and stop the industry before it can even start.
The call from environmental groups follows a press release in December from TMC, which said it "applauds" the US defence feasibility study on nodule refining.
It continued to say TMC, through its US subsidiary, had applied for a US$9 million defence grant to advance feasibility work on a domestic refinery for deep sea nodules.
TMC's chief executive Gerrard Barron also told the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in September last year, that his company, "a Western company", is leading by about five years when it comes to mining and extracting deep sea minerals.
"I firmly believe that in order for the United States to outcompete China in the critical mineral space, we must invest in domesticated capabilities to harvest and also to refine seabed minerals," he said.
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition's Phil McCabe said the apparent shift to defence reveals the "true character" of the company.
"They have moved away from deep sea mining for the green transition and moved towards critical minerals for security and defence."
TMC's head of stakeholder engagement head Corey McLachlan said the accusation suits the narrative of those opposed to the industry.
"They accused us previously when we said [the metals] were ideally suited for electric vehicles, that that was 'greenwashing'.
"Now the suggestion is that, because you have the defence industry and ministries within government that are interested in this for their strategic importance, they are going to be used for defence and armaments, and therefore it is bad."
He said the company is not in production yet, and just because defence is interested in the minerals, it does not mean that is where they will go.
"There is growing interest in these metals from a diverse source of potential customers and actors and it is not limited to any one outcome.
"These metals will be treated like most other commodities, they will move into the market and they will be used where they are most in demand."
TMC has recently dropped a contract with a Kiribati state-owned enterprise and is now down to two contracts on the high seas.
Kiribati's Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources had a meeting with China's ambassador last week to "explore potential collaboration".
McCabe said it is a sign of a flailing company that is putting pressure on the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to get the green light to mine.
"The Metals Company is financially on its knees; it really needs something to move quickly, [it is] getting desperate."
International Seabed Authority flag Photo: flickr / ISBA HQ
However, McLachlan said the company is not in financial hardship and they pulled out of the contract because it wasn't commercially viable.
"For [environmental groups], their objective is to look for opportunities to make the industry seem unappealing.
"As a commercial entity, it is our job to allocate resources efficiently and effectively, and so we have determined that the best way for us to use our resources is to advance our other two projects, which are extremely competitive when you consider their commercial viability."
Deep sea mining has not started yet and there are no rules for doing so in international waters.
Despite this, TMC is planning to submit an application to mine in June by using a legal loophole.
The company, along with several others, have also asked the ISA to get a move on with adopting mining rules, which said they have poured billions into exploring potential sites and have the expectation of extracting the valuable minerals.
McLachlan said the letter shows there is a "widespread sense of frustration within contractors" by the slow progress at the ISA.
But McCabe said the letter was another sign TMC is in financial trouble.
"I have been engaging in this issue on seabed mining for well over a decade and every company that has risen up and tried to push through, they have all failed, and all gone down in burning flames."
Again, TMC's McLachlan said the company was not in financial trouble.
"It's simply unfair and unrealistic to ask an industry to continue to make these investments and to move forward without providing regulatory certainty."
