NOAA has published a notice of intent in the Federal Register to prepare an environmental impact statement for TMC USA’s USA-B exploration license application, marking the next step after NOAA certified the application on May 26, 2026.
The USA-B area covers about 122,000 square kilometers of seafloor in the Clarion Clipperton Zone and is estimated to contain 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules. TMC said the area contains high grades of nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, along with meaningful quantities of rare earth elements.
The company said the NOAA process will now move to a draft EIS and draft terms, conditions and restrictions for public comment, followed by a final EIS and then a final decision on the license and related terms.
TMC also said its separate USA-A consolidated application, submitted on January 22, 2026, was determined to be fully compliant on April 28, 2026.
TMC said more than a decade of research underpins the applications. It said independent academics have published 37 peer-reviewed studies based on its eastern CCZ dataset. The company said the exploratory work tied to USA-B is expected to generate additional data in central and western CCZ areas, with hundreds more papers anticipated over time. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved -6.49% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $3.7499. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
