The company said this week that it will apply to start the next stage of its seabed mining project, NORI, after the July 2024 International Seabed Authority meeting. It had previously aimed to submit an application this year and start small-scale production in 2024, but now expects to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. (The Logic)

Talking point: The company’s plans to develop an underwater cache of electric-vehicle battery metals has run up against red tape from the world’s seabed regulator. Debates at this year’s International Seabed Authority meetings did not yield a much-anticipated final mining code. TMC’s nickel exploration project was sponsored by the government of Nauru, a Pacific island nation. But 21 other countries, including Canada, have called to halt seabed mining, citing concerns over the lack of robust rules and research on the environmental impacts. Meanwhile, delegates from China, which dominates the battery-metal industry, reportedly removed a proposal to pause mining from this year’s agenda “because it did not comply with procedural rules.” The company said the July 2024 application will cost an additional US$60 million to US$70 million.