Company: TMCWW
Filing Date: 2025-05-12
Form Type: 8-K
Source: 0001104659-25-047373
Chunk: 5

Company: TMC the metals Co Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-05-12
Form: 8-K
Item: Item 8.01
Chunk 5
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 are estimated to hold approximately 1.635 billion wet tonnes
of measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources. Together, the resource is estimated to include approximately 15.5 million tonnes
of nickel, 12.8 million tonnes of copper, 2.0 million tonnes of cobalt, and 345 million tonnes of manganese. These applications reflect
the Company’s belief that DSHMRA provides a viable and independent regulatory path to commercial production, distinct from the ISA
regime under UNCLOS.

At the same time as the Company pursues the U. S.
pathway, it continues to preserve its rights under the ISA system. The ISA is an intergovernmental organization established pursuant to
UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of UNCLOS and regulates seabed mineral activities by its member states and
their sponsored contractors. While the ISA does not have jurisdiction over U. S.-based operations, the Company maintains two exploration
contracts in the CCZ - one held by its subsidiary Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (“ NORI”), sponsored by the Republic of Nauru,
and one held by Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (“ TOML”), sponsored by the Kingdom of Tonga. The ISA has issued a total of 19
exploration contracts covering approximately 1.28 million square kilometers, 17 of which are located in the CCZ. On November 12,
2024, the Company announced its intention to submit an application for an exploitation contract to the ISA on June 27, 2025. Today,
the Company is increasingly focused on pursuing commercial production through the U. S. regulatory pathway under DSHMRA, following the
April 2025 submission of TMC USA’s exploration license and commercial recovery permit applications to NOAA. The Company does
not believe pursuing licenses and permits with NOAA under DSHMRA nullifies its ISA exploration contracts. However, if ISA progress on
adopting final exploitation regulations stalls or the resulting regulations prove commercially or legally unworkable, the Company may
pivot fully to the U. S. regime.

The Company has key strategic alliances with (i) Allseas
Group S. A., a major contractor in the global offshore energy industry, which developed and tested a pilot collection system and is now
working to modify it into the first commercial production system, and (ii) Glencore International AG, which holds offtake rights
(i. e., a contractual right to purchase a specific quantity of products over a