The Metals Company and SGS have produced nickel from harvested polymetallic nodules.

As part of The Metals Company's (TMC) pilot-scale processing, the world's first nickel sulfate has been produced from polymetallic nodules harvested from the seabed, further solidifying the resource's promise for battery markets.

"The production of the world's first nickel sulfate from deep-seafloor nodules is an important milestone, confirming that our custom flowsheet configuration can be deployed to process these remarkable rocks into final products suitable for use in batteries," TMC Head of Onshore Development Jeffrey Donald.

The nickel sulfate was produced in a testing program conducted in collaboration with the extractive metallurgy team at SGS Canada – a testing, inspection and certification company. The process involved bench-scale testing of TMC's hydrometallurgical flowsheet design.

Samples of nickel-cobalt-copper matte harvested by TMC in 2021 were used for testing, processing high-grade nickel matte direct to nickel sulfate, bypassing the step of producing nickel metal – further, the process generated fertilizer byproducts, mitigating concerns about solid waste or tailings.

"As a trusted partner, SGS is proud to be working with The Metals Company to execute a key part of their initiative," said Stephen Mackie, North America senior director of metallurgy and consulting at SGS. "The test work completed to-date for TMC has proven to be quite successful and we are excited on continuing our relationship with them on future phases of work."

Following this success, SGS will continue testing to produce the world's first cobalt sulfate from polymetallic nodules.

TMC holds exploration rights to two world-class undeveloped nickel deposits with their Nauru and Tonga island partnerships. The NORI and TOML projects are ranked the world's first and second-largest undeveloped nickel projects. These deposits contain enough nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese to replace every U.S. car with an electric vehicle.

Deep-sea abyssal plains in areas like the Clarion Clipperton Zone between the southernmost tip of the Hawaiian Islands and the west coast of Mexico are now considered the world's largest undeveloped source of critical battery metals – which TMC's announcement proposes "could offer a less impactful alternative to market dominant rainforest-sourced nickel laterites, potentially alleviating stress on ecosystems and local communities."

In November 2023, TMC signed a memorandum of understanding with Pacific Metals Co Ltd. (PAMCO) of Japan to complete a feasibility study for the processing of 1.3 million metric tons of polymetallic nodules per year into high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt alloy/matte and manganese silicate, which are feedstock for producing lithium-ion batteries, electrical infrastructure, and steel.

The Metals Company

TMC holds exploration rights to two world-class undeveloped nickel deposits containing enormous quantities of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese.

"The data collected will inform further engineering decisions to move this towards commercial scale, and TMC continues to expect that initial production will begin with a capital-light approach by leveraging the existing processing facilities of strategic partners, such as PAMCO," said Donald. "With the commencement of this new industry now being seen as imminent by countries and companies alike, this represents not just a major achievement for TMC but for the entire deep-seafloor minerals industry."

With dire future predictions of insufficient critical battery metals like nickel and cobalt, prioritization of marine mineral exploration to support energy and national security has been influencing policy worldwide.

In March of this year, members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced draft legislation of the Responsible Use of Seafloor Resources Act of 2024, calling for support to "provide financial, diplomatic, or other forms of support for seafloor nodule collection, processing and refining" in hopes of establishing domestic infrastructure to refine nodules into critical minerals for the energy transition and national defense.