*Certification represents a key milestone in the regulatory approval process for TMC USA's exploration license application

*The Company's USA B application area covers 122,000 km2 of seafloor containing an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules with high grades of nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, and several rare earth elements

*NOAA will now begin preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for TMC USA's planned exploration activities in the USA B area

*The certification follows NOAA's recent determination that TMC USA's consolidated application for an exploration license and a commercial recovery permit for the USA A area is in full compliance with the requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA) and its implementing regulations

NEW YORK, May 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) ("TMC" or the "Company"), a leading developer of the world's largest resource of critical metals essential to energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure, today announced that the USA B exploration license application submitted by its U.S. subsidiary, The Metals Company USA LLC (TMC USA), had been formally certified by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The USA B application area covers 122,000 km2 of seafloor and hosts an estimated 1.02 billion tonnes of polymetallic nodules based upon TMC's Technical Report Summary for the Initial Assessment published in August 2025. In addition to the USA B exploration license application, TMC USA is also advancing a consolidated application for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit for the USA A area, which was submitted to NOAA on January 22, 2026, and later determined to be fully compliant on April 28, 2026.

Gerard Barron, CEO and Chairman of The Metals Company commented: "Today's certification of our USA B exploration license application marks another important milestone in NOAA's transparent, rules-based process and we look forward to the development and publication of an EIS. Exploration is a critical step to unlocking the transformative potential of the untapped nodule resource for the United States."

Certification represents a key step in a steady cadence of expected regulatory milestones:

NOAA is expected to soon publish a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, followed by the development and then publication for public comment of a draft EIS and draft Terms, Conditions and Restrictions (TCRs) for TMC USA's proposed exploration activities on the USA B area

Following the public comment period, the EIS will be finalized and NOAA will make a final determination on the issuance of the license and its associated TCRs

The Company and its partners have conducted over a decade of scientific research, environmental data collection, and offshore engineering, building one of the most comprehensive datasets ever assembled on polymetallic nodules and their surrounding ecosystems. To date, independent academics have published 37 peer-reviewed studies based upon the Company's dataset. Earlier this year, the Company began sharing key findings from its Environmental Impact Assessment publicly as part of two new video series, highlighting how its dataset addresses environmental concerns and how innovation has reduced its environmental footprint. The exploratory activities outlined as part of TMC USA's USA B exploration license application are expected to generate significant new data and, with all academics involved free to publish, the Company anticipates that hundreds more papers will be published over the coming months and years.

NOAA has played a central role in advancing scientific understanding of deep seabed mining impacts since the 1970s, including conducting environmental research cruises in the CCZ, monitoring early nodule collection trials, and publishing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement covering the CCZ in 1981. The agency issued comprehensive DSHMRA implementing regulations in 1981 (exploration licenses) and 1989 (commercial recovery permits) and has maintained an active licensing program since that time, with multiple exploration licenses renewed on a five-year basis.

About The Metals Company

The Metals Company is a developer of lower-impact critical metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure with net positive impacts compared to conventional production routes and (2) trace, recover and recycle the metals we supply to help create a metal commons that can be used in perpetuity. The Company has conducted more than a decade of research into the environmental and social impacts of offshore nodule collection and onshore processing. More information is available at www.metals.co. 

Contacts

Media | media@metals.co

Investors | investors@metals.co 

Copyright 2026 GlobeNewswire, Inc.