Early on, Canada-based The Metals Company cast the rocks it seeks to mine from the deep seafloor as a crucial resource for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, positioning them as a solution to the accelerating climate crisis. However, in 2024, another message overtook the first in TMC’s communications, according to an analysis by Mongabay and collaborators. It now cast these same rocks as strategic assets, essential for strengthening the mineral dominance and national security of the U.S., where the company has a subsidiary. This narrative pivot seems to have helped TMC position itself to act on potential U.S. approval for deep-sea mining even before the Trump administration gave its formal authorization in April, and may well provide the momentum needed to launch this contentious and still highly speculative industry. TMC did not address the specific claims Mongabay presented in this investigation regarding the company’s narrative strategies. Instead, in a statement, TMC criticized Mongabay for being “increasingly captured by activist narratives,” while offering no comment on its own messaging aimed at investors and the public. This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center’s Ocean Reporting Network, where Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a fellow. It is part two of an investigation into TMC, its investors, partners and business strategies. Read part one here. There are at least two versions of the pitch. One casts polymetallic nodules — metal-rich rocks scattered across flat stretches of the deep seafloor — as a crucial resource for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, positioning…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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