Mining company faces backlash over defense funding shift

A mining company called The Metals Company (TMC) is facing criticism from environmental groups. They claim that TMC has shifted its focus from supporting renewable energy to working with the defense sector. TMC denies these claims and says they are an effort to undermine the emerging deep sea mining industry. In December, TMC released a statement praising a US defense study on refining minerals found in deep sea nodules. The company also applied for a US$9 million defense grant. TMC's CEO, Gerrard Barron, told a US committee that his company is ahead of others in deep sea mining, emphasizing the need for the US to invest in its capabilities to compete globally. Phil McCabe from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition argues that TMC’s shift to defense shows its true intentions. He believes the company is leaving behind its green energy claims to focus more on defense-related minerals. TMC's Corey McLachlan countered this by saying that the interest from the defense sector does not limit the use of these minerals to military purposes. Recently, TMC ended a contract with a company in Kiribati and now has only two contracts left for high sea projects. Critics, like McCabe, suggest this signals financial trouble for TMC, forcing them to pressure the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for permission to start mining. However, McLachlan insists that the company is not in financial difficulty and pulled out of the Kiribati contract because it wasn't viable. Currently, deep sea mining has not yet begun, and there are no established international rules for it. Despite this, TMC plans to submit an application to mine by June, seeking to exploit a legal loophole. They, along with other companies, are urging the ISA to accelerate the development of mining regulations. TMC claims that frustration is growing among contractors due to slow progress at the ISA. Environmentalists, however, maintain that TMC's actions indicate it may not survive in the industry. McLachlan argues that without clear regulations, it is unreasonable to expect companies to continue investing in deep sea mining.