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(Kitco News) - Gerard Barron, chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, said six months of trials were a "success on all fronts." Barron spoke to Kitco Mining on Monday.
The Metals Company is a development company focused on deepwater mining in the Pacific Ocean. The company plans to collect polymetallic nodules containing cobalt, nickel, manganese and copper from the ocean floor.
Barron said one of the top questions about The Metals Company is whether operations can scale.
"Last year for six months we were out on our license area collecting nodules, and it was a success on all fronts," said Barron. "We drove about 80-plus kilometers on the seafloor, we harvested about 5,000 tonnes and we brought home about 3,000 tonnes."
In its investor presentation, The Metals Company says its NORI and TOML projects rank first and second, respectively, as the world's largest undeveloped nickel projects.
Ocean floor mining is contentious. The International Seabed Authority is meeting this month to set guidelines for the industry. According to the Financial Times, France and Germany are leading a fight against large-scale commercial mining in the deep seas. This week, Canada added its name to the list of countries that are against ocean floor mining. The Metals Company is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C.
Countries that would like to push ahead with ocean floor mining include China, South Korea, Russia and Norway.
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