TMC: A Deep-Sea Venture and the Patience of Capital

The announcement, emanating from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), confirmed that TMC’s application – a weighty document detailing its plans for deep-sea mining – had achieved “substantial compliance” with the requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. It is a curiously precise phrase, “substantial compliance,” hinting at imperfections gracefully overlooked. One imagines a weary bureaucrat, sighing with relief that the paperwork, at least, is in order. This is not to diminish the achievement; rather, to place it within the larger, often tedious, rhythm of progress. To have navigated the initial labyrinth of forms is a victory of sorts, a small reprieve in a protracted campaign.








