Summary

Mine Type	Seabed
Study Completed	Prefeasibility
Stage	Permitting
Commodities	Nickel Copper Cobalt Manganese Phosphorus Silica
Mining Method	Seafloor nodule collection
Project Timeline	...
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	The NORI-D Area, located on the seafloor of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, hosts the world’s first declared polymetallic nodule reserves containing cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese. In 2022, NORI completed Test Mining validating the mining concept and informing commercial-scale system design. TMC has developed and demonstrated nodule collection and processing systems capable of producing nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese with minimal solid waste. Proposed offshore infrastructure includes nodule collectors, a vertical transport system, production vessels, and transfer vessels for nodule transfer from production vessels to bulk carrier vessels. The plant in Japan (or Indonesia) will toll-process nodules into an alloy and convert it to matte. From year six, a US-based refinery will process the matte into nickel and cobalt sulfate, copper cathode. On April 29, 2025, TMC applied for exploration licences and commercial recovery permits over the NORI-D area under DSHMRA.

Deposit type

• Sedimentary

Summary:

Seafloor polymetallic nodules occur in all oceans, but the CCZ hosts a relatively high abundance of particularly nickel and copper-rich nodules. The CCZ seafloor forms part of the Abyssal Plains, which are the largest physiographic province on Earth.

The average depth of the seafloor in the Project Area is 3,800 to 4,200 m. The Abyssal Plains are traversed by ridges, with amplitude of 50 to 300 m (maximum 1,000 m) to the west and wavelength of 1 to 10 km. The Abyssal Plains are punctuated by inactive volcanoes rising 500 to 2,000 m above the seafloor.

Seafloor polymetallic nodules rest on the seafloor at the seawater sediment interface. They are composed of nuclei and concentric layers of manganese and iron hydroxides and are formed by precipitation of metals from surrounding seawater and sediment pore waters. Nickel, cobalt and copper are also precipitated and occur within the structure of the manganese and iron minerals.

Nodules are abundant in abyssal areas with oxygenated bottom waters and low sedimentation rates (less than 10 cm per thousand years). Nodules generally range from about 1 to 12 cm in their longest dimension. Nodules of 1 to 5 cm are typically the most common in NORI Area D, where they have been classified as Type 1 nodules.

The specific conditions of the CCZ (water depth, latitude, and seafloor sediment type) are considered to be the key controls for the formation of polymetallic nodules.

Polymetallic mineralization
The ISA completed a geological modelling project in 2009, based on data collected by contractors over the preceding 30 years (ISA, 2009, 2010a, 2010b).

Nodule grades
Nodule chemistry varies only slightly within the CCZ. The high continuity and low variability of grades across vast distances is remarkable. Copper and manganese generally increase towards the southeast, cobalt is generally higher towards the north, and nickel is generally higher towards the center and southwest of the CCZ. The reason for these very large-scale trends is not clear. The German data for NORI Area D were not included in the ISA geological model.

Nodule abundance
Nodules lie on the seafloor sediment, often partly buried. Some nodules are completely buried, although the frequencies of such subsurface occurrences are very poorly defined. Kotlinski and Stoyanova (2006) document up to five discrete layers of buried nodules, although all were within 45 cm of the surface despite using sediment cores of 250 to 380 cm depth (i.e., all of these nodules are near surface). Other images of box corers also suggest that all or most of the nodules are at the surface. Consequently, drilling is not required for defining the Mineral Resources.

During the 2018-2022 NORI Area D campaigns, 93% of nodules sampled were situated at surface These include nodules on the surface and nodules with their top surfaces in the upper 1 cm of sediment. At least 96% are inferred to be within the top 5 cm of sediment. A few nodules were found at depth; most of these were usually clustered around the edges of the box core and are considered to have been pushed below surface by the box coring process.

Nodules vary in abundance, in some cases touching one another and covering more than 70% of the seafloor. The highest concentrations of nodules have been found on abyssal plains between 4,000 and 6,000 m below sea level.

Nodule facies
NORI identified three broad facies of nodule distribution on the seafloor (distribution pattern with similar nodule coverage and nodule sizes), based on camera imagery.

Type 1 nodule facies is typically characterized by >50% nodules (by area of coverage). The majority of these nodules are typically medium-sized and are closely packed, with many nodules in contact with their neighbors.

Types 2 and 3 are characterized by larger nodules, and the nodules are typically separated (i.e., there are noticeable sediment gaps between individual nodules).

Geological domains
Based on analysis of bathymetric data from the 2012 and 2018 campaigns, together with box core data, eight geological domains which characterize nodule prospectivity were interpreted:
1) Abyssal plains: these constitute the majority of NORI Area D and are characterised by gentle slopes of 0 to 6", and nodules lying on soft sediment. Nodules were observed to be ubiquitous in this domain wherever it was surveyed and sampled. It is considered a highly- prospective domain for nodules.

The abyssal plains can be further divided into three subdomains based on backscatter response and ground-truthing (box core samples and land-out video footage):
• Areas considered indicative of Type 2 and 3 nodule facies, as determined from high amplitude backscatter response;
• Areas considered indicative of Type 1 nodule facies, as determined from moderate amplitude backscatter response;
• Sediment drift domains-characterised by a soft sediment ooze with low amplitude backscatter response, and extremely low to no nodule abundance (1% area coverage).

The remaining 4% of the abyssal plains are occupied by the volcanic cones:
1) Abyssal hills: these are topographically higher features, oriented NNW-SSE, and are parallel to one another. Slopes of the hills are mostly gentle on the western side, while they are very steep at the eastern side, likely representing horsts (fault blocks) bounded by inward-dipping normal faults and outward-dipping volcanic growth faults respectively.
2) Abyssal hills (hard): abyssal hills where the hill crests are associated with the occurrence of hardgrounds, caused by proximity of underlying (harder) Neogene-age footwall sediment succession at the seafloor, typically covered by a veneer of unconsolidated sediment.
3) Slopes 6°: these are associated with the flanks of abyssal hills, where the slope is 6º or greater, and are likely associated with hardgrounds and/or volcanic debris and volcanic outcrop development typically associated with NNW trending faults. These steep slopes are considered to have low nodule prospectivity but have not been fully tested with sampling or photography.
4) Slopes³ 6° (hard): these are associated with the flanks of abyssal hills where the slope is 6 or greater, and are associated with hardground development, typified by outcropping (harder) Neogene-age sedimentary rocks. These steep slopes are considered to have low nodule prospectivity, based on limited box core sampling, AUV SBP data and photography.
5) Volcanic outcrops: these are associated with volcanic growth-faults along the abyssal hill flanks, which trend NNW-SSE, and are elongated, narrow bodies mapped through integration of AUV SBP and camera data with EM 122 MBES data backscatter data.
6) Volcanic cones: these are typically grouped in chains and follow the east-southeast "Hawaiian trend". These are isolated features and were not sampled during the 2018 or 2019 NORI campaigns. However, due to their volcanic origin, steep slopes (>6") and dominant high-intensity backscatter (typically associated with volcanic outcrop), they are also considered to have low nodule prospectivity.
7) Volcanic high: this is a macro-scale topographic feature situated in the SE corner of NORI Area D. It is interpreted as a relic volcanic intersection high, which also includes a relic transform parallel trough. Both are volcanic related features associated with the Clipperton transform zone, situated to the south of NORI Area D.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

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Commodity Production

Operational metrics

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Personnel

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