NEW YORK, March 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals ( TMC ) company Inc. (“TMC” or “the Company”), a leading developer of the world’s largest resource of critical metals essential to energy, defense, manufacturing and infrastructure, today provided a corporate update and fourth quarter and full year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2025.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Highlights

Total cash of approximately $117.6 million at December 31, 2025$11.4 million cash used in operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2025Operating loss of $44.7 million, net loss of $40.4 million and net loss per share of $0.08 for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 Exclusive Negotiations Underway for Nodule Processing & Refining Hub in Brownsville, Texas

Exclusive negotiations for 1,466 acres with the Port of BrownsvilleIntended land use is to develop an integrated nodule processing and refining facility for American nodule industry with optionality to process other feedstocksPreliminary Master Plan for a 12 Mtpa facility developed and prefeasibility study under wayAs the only American nodule developer to have designed and tested nodule processing and refining technology at scale, TMC USA is spearheading this potential development along with its consortium partnersNo capital commitments made by TMC USA, and investment decision is conditional on U.S. government supportIn addition, capital-light tolling option still being fully explored in Japan Strategic Partnership with Mariana Minerals

Following ​a ​non-binding MOU signed in April 2025, TMC ​USA signed a Strategic ​Partnership Agreement earlier this month with ​Mariana Minerals, a ​software-first mineral ​developer with ​operations ​in San ​Francisco, ​Texas and UtahThe initial ​focus of ​the ​partnership is to conduct a ​feasibility ​study for a staged development ​of ​a nodule processing ​and refining ​facility in Brownsville, ​Texas, and develop AI-enabled ​process ​controls for such ​a ​facility Gerard Barron, Chairman & CEO, commented: “In my time leading TMC, I’ve never felt better about our pathway to production because of our financial, strategic, and permitting position. 2025 was a transformative year for our business — we pivoted to a clear U.S. permitting pathway, saw strong policy support for our industry through the Administration’s Executive Order and new consolidated application regulations from NOAA, welcomed several strategic partners and investors including Korea Zinc and the Hess family, and delivered the world’s first Pre-Feasibility Study for an integrated polymetallic nodule project demonstrating commercial viability. We ended the year with $162 million in liquidity including undrawn, unsecured credit facilities and expect to report around $154 million of liquidity at March 31, 2026.

In 2025, we established a new roadmap for our company and our industry. In 2026, we are focusing on accelerated execution. We believe our new consolidated application can deliver a commercial recovery permit faster than had we followed a sequential process. NOAA’s determination of substantial compliance was a significant milestone. Our next key milestones are expected to be full compliance and certification, as well as an Environmental Impact Statement for our consolidated application.

Our confidence in our ability to secure the permit within a year is high, so we are not waiting to move forward toward production and expect to complete our updated commercial agreement with Allseas in the coming days.

To unleash offshore minerals, we must also solve for domestic processing and refining—with last year’s Executive Order tasking several government agencies to explore and support domestic processing. While we are not committing to domestic onshore capital expenditures at this time, we are exploring all available options which will include our capital-light, tolled processing options, along with progressing the prerequisites required to unlock U.S. government support for a domestic processing and refining hub for our industry, including site-specific planning and feasibility work.

To that end, last year we secured an exclusive right over a potential land lease option in the Port of Brownsville, Texas, near where plans have recently been announced supported by this Administration for the first new U.S. oil refinery in decades — underscoring the broader momentum behind strengthening American industrial capacity. We’ve developed a preliminary master plan and a Pre-Feasibility Study is already under way for a 12 Mtpa industry park, with the ultimate decision likely to be conditional on financial support from this Administration. We have also partnered ​with ​Mariana Minerals who will ​ support feasibility ​studies and planning in Brownsville as part of our owner’s team. ​Founded by ​a team ​with decades ​of experience ​from Tesla, ​Exxon and ​BASF, ​Mariana brings ​a ​software-driven, AI-enabled approach ​to ​project development and ​metallurgical processing ​-- ​reflecting the ​more tech-driven, capital-efficient model ​we believe ​is required to reindustrialize processing capacity in ​the ​United ​States. We believe TMC is well positioned to play a leading role as this industry moves into commercial production, both offshore and onshore.”

Operational Highlights

Exclusivity on Lease Option for Site in Brownsville, Texas

TMC USA currently holds an ​exclusive ​right ​of negotiation with the Port of Brownsville ​on a ​lease ​and / or lease ​option ​for ​land sufficient to develop a domestic nodule processing and refining ecosystem for TMC USA and other American nodule developers, with the ultimate decision conditional on U.S. government support. The option on a 50-year lease covers a total of 1,466 ​acres of land at ​the Port of ​Brownsville, ​in two separate land parcels (735 acres on the Brownsville ​Shipping ​Channel and an adjacent ​731 acres). There is currently no financial commitment required of TMC USA.

Strategic Partnership with Mariana Minerals

On March 19, 2026, TMC signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Mariana Minerals (“Mariana”) focusing on the potential development of the nodule processing and refining facility in the Port of Brownsville as part of TMC’s owner’s team. Mariana brings an AI, software-first approach to the permitting, construction and operation of critical mineral projects: fast-tracked capital ​project execution, ​which enabled ​Tesla ​to ​build its Lithium plant in Texas in ‘Media’ > ‘Events and Presentations’, approximately two hours after the event.

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

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Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements and information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “could,” “expects,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company’s strategy to pursue commercial recovery of seafloor polymetallic nodules under the U.S. regulatory regime; the outcome and timing of regulatory reviews of its applications submitted pursuant to the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA); the progression of the Company’s applications through NOAA’s certification process and expected review timelines; the expected use of proceeds from the Company’s 2025 financings and other capital sources; the timing and success of environmental assessments, feasibility studies, technical and processing trials; the potential economic outcomes described in the Company’s Pre-Feasibility Study and Initial Assessment; the belief that our cash balance will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure commitments for at least the next twelve months from the date of this press release; the Company’s operational and financial plans, including the potential development of a commercial-scale offshore nodule collection system and related onshore processing facilities; and the Company’s plans relating to downstream logistics, processing and refining, including site selection and development activities in Brownsville, Texas, and engagement with third-party partners. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among other things: the outcome and timing of regulatory reviews by NOAA under DSHMRA; the ability to obtain an exploitation contract from the ISA or permits from the U.S. government; risks related to the Company’s dual-path permitting strategy; changes in environmental, mining and other applicable laws and regulations; the timing and results of environmental assessments and technical studies; the development, testing and scaling of offshore collection systems; risks related to strategic partnerships and technology sharing; uncertainties relating to processing nodules at commercial scale; metals price volatility; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash and ability to secure additional financing on acceptable terms or at all; dependence on third parties, including Allseas Group S.A. and PAMCO. including the ability to successfully finalize, execute and perform under definitive agreements with such parties on expected terms or at all; the outcome of any pending or future litigation; and other risks and uncertainties described in greater detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 27, 2025, and in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, including the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 filed on May 14, 2025, and for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 filed on August 14, 2025. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether because of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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Source: The Metals Company