TMC (TMC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Date

Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. ET

Call participants

• Chief Executive Officer and Chairman — Gerard Barron
• Chief Financial Officer — Craig Shesky
• Chief Innovation and Offshore Technology Officer — Rutger Bosland

Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email pr@fool.com

Takeaways

• First Commercial Production Agreement -- TMC signed a production agreement with Allseas for the development and future operation of a commercial polymetallic nodule collection system, with Allseas funding a significant portion of preproduction costs to be repaid after production commences.
• Regulatory Milestone -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) determined TMC's consolidated application for its U.S. project to be in full compliance with existing seabed mineral regulations, and the application is expected to advance to federal register posting and sequential public comment periods.
• Offshore Production System Timeline -- Integration and commissioning of the initial offshore production system are scheduled for late 2027, with additional systems targeted for streamlined deployment based on engineering learnings.
• Operational Model -- TMC is pursuing an integrated offshore-to-onshore nodule collection and logistics system enabling continuous production, incorporating simulation and modeling to refine logistics and vessel coordination for safety and efficiency.
• Brownsville Processing Project -- TMC holds an exclusive negotiation right for 1,466 acres adjacent to the Brownsville Shipping Channel in Texas for a planned metals processing and refining facility sized for up to 12 million tonnes per year, contingent on government support, with a pre-feasibility study underway but no capital commitment to date.
• Strategic Partnerships -- TMC established a strategic partnership with Mariana Minerals to accelerate feasibility work and integrate advanced digital and automation solutions in processing plant design, with leadership from former major industrial and technology companies.
• Metals Royalty Company (TMCR) Holdings -- TMC holds a 25% equity stake in TMCR, now valued at approximately $200 million, and retains rights to repurchase up to 75% of the NORI royalty at a capped return.
• Project Economics -- Last year's pre-feasibility study reported a $5.5 billion NPV for the initial production area and $18.1 billion NPV for additional zones, with a combined estimated resource value of $23.6 billion, and long-term projections show $369 billion in revenue and $200 billion in EBITDA on an undiscounted basis.
• Liquidity -- TMC's liquidity as of March 31, 2026, was $164 million, including $44 million from an undrawn credit facility; accounts payable and accrued liabilities totaled $53.9 million, including $32.1 million owed to Allseas (to be settled with equity) and $9 million recently remitted to tax authorities.
• Net Loss -- TMC recognized a net loss of $20.6 million in Q1 2026, matching the year-ago period, with a net loss per share of $0.05 compared to $0.06 last year.
• Operating Expenses -- Exploration and evaluation expenses rose to $13.3 million from $9.5 million due to increased share-based compensation and higher pre-feasibility study costs; general and administrative expenses increased to $20.7 million from $8.5 million, primarily due to retention grants.
• Cashflow -- Net cash used in operating activities was $0.6 million (due to timing on tax-related transactions), with underlying operational cash outflow excluding this timing matching prior-year levels at $9.6 million; free cash flow (non-GAAP) was negative $0.6 million compared to negative $9.4 million previously.

Summary

The Metals Company (NASDAQ:TMC) advanced toward commercial production by signing a pivotal production agreement with Allseas, securing a unique funding arrangement and setting late 2027 for system commissioning. The company achieved crucial regulatory progress as NOAA confirmed regulatory compliance for TMC's U.S. application, initiating a sequenced permit review with defined public comment periods. Execution risk is supported by TMC's integrated logistics and industrial partnerships, while a significant rights agreement shapes plans for a U.S. metal-processing campus in Brownsville, currently cost-disciplined and awaiting public funding commitments. Royalty interests and strategic equity holdings in TMCR add balance sheet value and optionality to TMC's business model, with operational results anchored by $164 million liquidity and a consistent net loss profile as core production infrastructure advances.

• TMC's prefeasibility studies remain the first globally to establish probable reserves for a nodule project, distinguishing its asset base and resource validation.
• Management emphasized optionality for shared infrastructure at the proposed processing plant, specifically stating openness to third-party throughput and industry partnerships for scale and efficiency.
• Offshore cost optimization initiatives prioritize near-term improvements in energy use and logistics, with future scalability supported by autonomous and alternative vessel concepts at earlier development stages.
• TMC explicitly stated in the Q&A its intention to maintain an equitable capital share with Allseas on offshore capital expenditures, clarifying no shift in the original funding split expectation.
• TMC addressed political risk inquiries by explaining that federal regulation and permitting timelines are not directly impacted by changes in Congress, reflecting confidence in a methodical, bipartisan regulatory process.

Industry glossary

• Polymetallic Nodules: Mineral concretions found on the ocean floor containing economically significant concentrations of nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese.
• CCZ (Clarion Clipperton Zone): A deep-ocean region between Hawaii and Mexico rich in polymetallic nodules and hosting multiple exploration licenses.
• PFS (Pre-Feasibility Study): A technical and economic evaluation of a mining project to determine commercial viability and support initial reserve declarations.
• NORI (Nauru Ocean Resources Inc.): TMC’s wholly owned subsidiary holding key exploration rights in the CCZ.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Gerard Barron: Thank you, Craig, and thanks to all of you for joining us today. Well, as we said during our last call, if 2025 was about a transformational piece, 2026 is about accelerated execution. In the 6 weeks since our last call, we have several developments to report from TMC, our partners, our regulator and the emerging nodule industry in general. The big development this week was the signing of our production agreement with Allseas, which will enable us to complete commission and operate the first commercial polymetallic nodule collection system.

The agreement [indiscernible], and while many of the key commercial terms and concepts have been reflected within our filings and technical reports for years, I believe the signing of this agreement shows the confidence that we and Allseas have in the regulatory path forward and the confidence that now is the time to prepare for commercial production. In late April, NOAA determined our consolidated application for TMC USA project to be in full compliance. With the requirements of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act and its implementing regulations. This milestone represents the latest in what we expect to be a consistent and transparent cadence of regulatory milestones in the coming weeks and months.

And we expect that our application will shortly be posted to the federal registrar. Kick starting one of a number of sequential public comment periods as part of NOAA's rigorous process. Once our application is certified, NOAA will notify the public of its intent to prepare and publish an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act. A draft EIS and TCRs will also be posted for public comment. And once the EIS and TCRs are finalized, NOAA is expected to make a final determination on issuing the license and permits.

You'll notice that the commentary in blue on this slide are required to remain open for 60 days, and they represent elements of the compressed ensuring due consideration for our application and a robust process. Noncompressible [indiscernible], there are no mandatory time limits on other steps. So the regulator has some flexibility in how they move through the [ trials ] and we continue to expect the grant of our commercial recovery permit during Q1 of next year. Our strategy has always relied on partnerships. The quality and depth of the strategic partnership we've assembled across offshore operations, onshore processing and refining and project execution is what has allowed us to move fast.

And on the offshore side, Allseas brings more than 40 years of deepwater engineering and operations including a long track record of pioneering entirely new offshore technologies at industrial scale. Across processing and refining, we have strong relationships with globally recognized metallurgical and engineering groups, including PAMCO, Glencore's XPS, Hatch, Korea Zinc, all of whom have already worked with nodule derived materials. And together with our partners, we have collected, lifted and processed thousands of tons of polymetallic modules, something no other company in our industry has achieved. We believe in this level of industrial capability around the project is one of the reasons TMC continues to maintain a [indiscernible] over others in the offshore mineral sector.

And while others are still exploring, we are already building an integrated [indiscernible] refining and ultimately downstream. On May 11, we signed an agreement with Allseas for the completion of the development of the first commercial production system and the future operation of this system after expected permitting approval. Much of this work is already well advanced. And in a clear sign of their confidence that this industry is moving towards commercial readiness, Allseas have agreed to fund a significant portion of the preproduction costs after these costs to be repaid over time after commencement of production. This agreement is not just a major milestone for TMC and Allseas, but for the development of the Seabed Mineral Industry more broadly.

And I'm pleased today we have TMC's Chief Innovation and Offshore Technology Officer, Rutger Bosland on the line to tell you more about our offshore system and operations. And of course, Rutger led the development and successful testing of our pilot module collection system, while he was at Allseas before coming over to join our team to help bring us to commercial operations. Rutger, over to you.

Rutger Bosland: Thank you, Gerard. It is a pleasure to be here today. What you see here are the key elements of the first Integrated Commercial Offshore and Production System designed for continuous operation, the system collects nodules on the sea floor and lift them to the Hidden Gem production vessel where they are dewalled, temporarily stored and then transferred to transport vessels to be shipped to shore for processing. The operation integrate offshore nodule collection, vertical transport, transfer activities, support vessels, environmental monitoring and adaptive management and downstream logistics into a continuous operating model with tightly coordinated logistics. Our offshore operational model has been designed to support uninterrupted offshore nodule collection.

A transfer vessel will move alongside and receive nodules from the hidden gem, while the hidden gem system keeps collecting nodules and move to the offshore transfer area for loading on to-go carriers. Now carriers are then loaded offshore and transport nodules onward to onshore processing facilities. Supply vessels rotate crew and shuttle fuel and materials between our logistics base in San Diego and Hidden Gem and the transfer vessel. These operations require highly synchronized vessel movements, dynamic positioning and coordinated transfer activities to maintain safe, efficient and continuous production. To achieve this, our project team and Allseas have conducted extensive simulation and modeling to refine these logistic cycles on the real offshore conditions. As engineers, we love a challenge.

And we are focused on ensuring that our system can operate reliable and efficiently day after day, while integrating seamlessly with production support, transport and handling systems at the surface to maintain continuous operations. This work has produced what we believe will be practical and scalable operations, and we will continue to further optimize every aspect of these cycles ahead of commercial production. The execution program for the offshore production system is underway. Concept and basic engineering activities for the key room lead packages have been substantially event and completed by all seeds including for key items like the riser, lounge recovery system, umbilical and vessel integration works.

With these activities complete, we are now in a position to move into procurement and subcontracting activities with suppliers. This program keeps us on track to begin integration and commissioning of the production system in late 2027. The first commercial module production system is a major milestone for the company and this industry. It also establishes the operational and engineering baseline for future optimization. As we deploy additional offshore production system, it becomes easier to repeat engineering processes at scale and to incorporate operational learnings across the broader production network.

The team has been hard at work evaluating opportunities to optimize our operations including large-scale production system, autonomous and remote vessel operations, alternative logistic configurations and what could potentially be the first nuclear-powered vessels in commercial use a topic that Allseas discussed during the TMC Strategy Day panel in 2025. A larger production system and wider collector spreads could significantly improve throughput and overall asset utilization while autonomous and remote offshore operations could reduce offshore crew, fuel and support requirements over time. We are also evaluating the direct offloading of modules from the Hidden Gem to dynamically position still carriers, simplifying offshore transfer activities and reducing transport costs.

This growing industry is dynamic as we scale the many optimizations being developed to serve the Seabed Minerals ecosystem are creating incredible roots towards continuous reduction of offshore collection and transfer costs. Though some of these concepts require further development they highlight the optionality and scalability of our offshore production model beyond the first system. With that, I would like to hand it back over to Gerard. Gerard, please proceed.

Gerard Barron: Thank you, Rutger. Well, a little over a year ago, President Trump issued an executive audio that altered the trajectory of our industry. It provided a clear policy signal that offshore minerals were a priority for the current administration and that was willing to leverage America's long-standing legal regime to secure industry leadership. The response was unprecedented. At least 9 American companies focused on offshore minerals in the high seas and exclusive economic zones. We [indiscernible] companies now have about 1.5 million square kilometers of the sea floor under license or application, like virus $5 million to $8 trillion in contained mineral value. American Shale Revolution helped the U.S. to end its energy dependence and become a net energy exporter.

And we believe that offshore minerals have the potential to do the same for American mineral dependence when it comes to critical and rare earth provided we established domestic processing and refining capacity. The national security case for construction of domestic nodule processing and refining facilities has grown stronger. After all four of our base metals were designated critical in the latest USGS list. The administration issued a presidential reclamation warning of the Sirius National Security risks posed by Americas near total import reliance for metals like manganese, cobalt and nickel.

And more recently, our request for project proposals from the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, which TMC recently joined, underscored the administration's efforts to reduce import dependencies and 13 minerals, including nickel. These domestic actions are unfolding in response to the weaponization of IPR in critical minerals. Several governments are restricting exports of metals, such as nickel, manganese and cobalt as well as all present in our modules. Our recent OECD report found that nickel, cobalt and manganese from the 10 metals most affected by export restrictions. These are serious matters for the U.S. to solve, and we will continue working with officials on both sides of the aisle to do our part in the coming decades.

And to that end, we've been looking at several sites to build domestic processing and refining facilities. TMC USA currently holds an exclusive right of negotiation with the port of Brownsville over land that could support a large-scale metals processing and refining ecosystem. Importantly, this is not just about TMC's first process has been sized with the potential to support a broader American offshore minerals industry and facilities designed with the flexibility to potentially process terrestial feedstocks over time as well. The proposed site covers approximately 1,466 acres across 2 parcels adjacent to the Brownsville shipping channel, with a pre-feasibility study already underway become what 12 million tonne per annum industrial park. And we're approaching this in a disciplined way.

There is no capital commitment today, and any further development would remain contingent on government support. And I'm sure everyone can appreciate the sensitivity of our ongoing U.S. government discussions, but I'll just reiterate that we continue to have frequent discussions with the departments and agencies named in the [ order], and we'll share more information at the appropriate time. To advance our potential processing and refining plant and a strategic partnership agreement with Mariana Minerals, whose team combines deep industrial project experience with software names designed specifically for large-scale mineral processing projects.

What attracted us to Mariana was not just the means and construction experience, but their focus on integrating software, automation and AI-driven operational system in direct project delivery and planned operations from day 1. Mariana's leadership includes former executives and operators from companies, including Tesla, BASF, Exxon, Lithium Americas with experience spanning mineral processing, EPC execution, variable scale commissioning. And the partnership is intended to accelerate feasibility work around the Brownsville site while also evaluating how advanced process controls operational software and digital project management tools could improve execution time lines, capital efficiency and long-term operating performance.

Importantly, we're evaluating Brownsville not simply as a processing site for TMC USA's initial production area, but as a potential long-term industrial platform capable of supporting broader growth in American critical mineral supply chains. As additional American operators move through the NOAA licensing process, we believe there could be meaningful strategic advantages in developing shared downstream processing infrastructure rather than duplicating stand-alone facilities. This is still early stage work, but we believe these are the kinds of long-term industrial partnerships required to build a scalable domestic critical minerals industry. On April 8, the metals royalty company, TMC, began trading on NASDAQ. Craig joined NASDAQ with the TMC team including our current and former Board members, Michael Hess and Brian Paes-Braga.

On a personal note, I'd like to congratulate Brian, Michael and the entire TMCR team on this milestone. And I'd like to congratulate them on their recent capital raise and [indiscernible] the Mesabi Metallics royalty. And I'll now turn the call over to Craig to discuss these topics in more detail and also walk you through our financials. Craig, over to you.

Craig Shesky: Thanks, Gerard. As a reminder, the cornerstone of TMCR's portfolio is a 2% gross overriding royalty on the Norway, which originated from our 2023 agreement with the predecessor company low-carbon royalties. As part of that agreement, TMC received an equity stake in TMCR itself, whose market capitalization has appreciated significantly and now stands at roughly $0.75 billion, indicating a value for TMC's current 25% equity stake of nearly $200 million. Importantly, we retained the right to repurchase up to 75% of the [ NORI ] royalty over time at a capped return, which could ultimately reduce that royalty to 0.5%.

And since listing, TMCR has also announced, as Gerard noted, a proposed royalty interest in Mesabi Metallics iron ore project in Minnesota. One of the United States only large-scale sources of merchant DR-grade iron ore pellets with production targeted for the second half of 2026, alongside a concurrent equity financing. It's also worth mentioning that the US Exxon Bank previously announced its support up to $10 billion for development of a major iron ore processing and refining facility with Mesabi Metallics in Minnesota. I would encourage all of our investors to check out the corporate update webinar held by TMCR on May 13, just yesterday, and that's available for replay at their website, the metalsroyaltyco.com.

Last August, we announced two major technical studies, pre-feasibility study and an initial assessment. The PFS on our first production area -- excuse me, the PFS is focused on our first production area. And establish the world's first reserve for a nodule project, while also confirming the project's strong commercial case. The initial assessment extended across the other areas highlighted on this slide in Royal Blue. These studies were comprehensive and independently supported by multiple qualified persons, but they do not include the additional ground where we have priority rights under U.S. law. Because those areas sit close to the zones already assessed in our published studies, we see them offering substantial further exploration upside.

And it's important to remember that these studies are point-in-time analyses, which do not reflect certain potential plans, such as the U.S. government supported processing facility nor do they reflect every opportunity that we and Allseas might have to reduce costs offshore, as Rutger walked us through earlier. But they do provide a helpful snapshot into the commercial viability of our proposed operations, particularly given the world first declaration of probable reserves in our PFS for a nodule project. At today's metal prices or close to today's metal prices, the value reflected in these studies is substantial.

Taken together, the $5.5 billion NPV from the PFS plus the $18.1 billion NPV from the initial assessment, imply combined estimated resource of $23.6 billion. And across the life of both projects on an undiscounted basis, the studies point to approximately $369 billion in revenue and more than $200 billion in EBITDA and a cost profile that places the project in the first quartile of the nickel cost curve. Now on to our liquidity and financials. You would have noticed that our liquidity, defined as cash on hand plus our credit facilities, was approximately $164 million as of March 31, 2026.

However, I want to be clear, as noted in our earnings release, this is inclusive of $9 million received on the last day of the quarter related to sell to cover tax transactions on stock-based compensation granted in prior years which was then remitted to tax authorities shortly after quarter end. So this is merely a bit of a timing cork, given the date on which the sell-to-cover transactions had to occur following our last reporting period. And then once that was finished and funds received, those are remitted to the tax authorities.

Keep in mind that the headline number reflecting vesting shares that were granted at far lower share prices, and we expect a strong alignment of interest between TMC employees and shareholders will continue to deliver results in the years ahead. On to the financial results. TMC reported a net loss of approximately $20.6 million in the first quarter of 2026, which was the same as the comparable period in 2025. Net loss per share was $0.05 in the first quarter of 2026 compared to $0.06 in the comparative period.

Exploration and evaluation expenses for the 3 months ended March 31, 2026, were $13.3 million compared to $9.5 million in 2025 and due to higher share-based compensation from third quarter 2025 awards for employee retention and higher PFS costs due to the PFS refresh, partially offset by lower all-season engineering costs. G&A expenses in Q1 2026 were $20.7 million compared to the $8.5 million in the comparative quarter last year. primarily due, again, to the amortization of higher onetime executive retention grants to share-based compensation issues in the third quarter of 2025. I'm getting a bit of an echo. So if anybody else in the line is able to mute, hopefully, we can get rid of that.

In Q1 2026, the gain on change in fair value of warrants was $10.7 million as the value of the private warrants decreased due to the lower share price at the end of Q1 2026 compared to the share price year-end 2025 in the shorter maturity term. On other nonoperating items, other nonoperating items that reduced the net loss in Q1 2026 included higher interest income generated from increased cash balances and a gain resulting from the dilution of our ownership in the metals royalty company as it completed a private placement to third parties at a price well in excess of book value, and that was partially offset by equity accounted investment losses.

On the cash flow side, net cash used in operating activities was in the first quarter of 2026, $0.6 million compared to $9.3 million used in operating activities in the first quarter of 2025. The outflow in Q1 2026 is nominal due to a timing difference, as I mentioned earlier, the $9 million of taxi Holdings received at the end of March and remitted to tax authorities shortly after the end of the quarter. If the taxable holding receipts are excluded, the cash used in operations would have been $9.6 million, which is in line with the first quarter of 2025. Free cash flow for Q1 2026 was negative $0.6 million compared to negative $9.4 million in Q1 2025.

And free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure. And I would point you to our disclosure in the non-GAAP reconciliation table that will be posted in the slide deck with our website. We do believe that our cash on hand, along with the undrawn unsecured credit facility from Gerard, our CEO and Chairman; and ARIS Capital LLC will be more than sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months from today. TMC liquidity stood at $164 million as of March 31, including $44 million available from that undrawn credit facility.

O ur accounts payable and accrued liabilities balance at March 31, 2026, was $53.9 million and includes $32.1 million that was owed to Allseas through various services provided, the majority of which is being settled through the issuance of TMC shares as disclosed in our 10-Q. Excluding the Allseas payable to be settled in equity and the $9 million payable to tax authorities, which has since been remitted, accounts payable and accrued liabilities would have been at quarter end $13 million. Operator, we would now like to open it up to the phone line for any Q&A.

Operator: [Operator Instructions]. And our first question will be coming from the line of Matthew O'Keefe of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Matthew O'Keefe: Thanks gentlemen. It sounds like things are moving along pretty well. I just had a kind of -- I like one of your slides there. You had -- you showed that you have some new -- well, not new entrants, but there are more entrants jumping on to the American offshore industry here. You've shown some other companies and all in their properties lying about in the CCZ and also, I guess, other parts of the ocean there. What are your thoughts on these other players? And are you working at all with them? I mean you have arguably a leadership position in this.

I would imagine there has been some outreach to you, just maybe for some best practices or given that you've done so much environmental work, I would maybe some advice on that as well?

Craig Shesky: Yes. Look, Matt, we've been familiar with some of the other entrants. We know them well. And frankly, the last 5 years as a public company has damaged my belief in the efficient market hypothesis. But at the same time, it wouldn't be good for us to be the only ones through the wall here, seeing the opportunity. So I think what it really signifies is the fact that the capital, the smart money is flowing into names that are pursuing exploration licenses through the U.S. process as opposed to the International Seabed Authority process. That's clear. The market is voting with their feet.

Are there opportunities to -- are there opportunities there potentially to work with some of these entrants? Sure. I mean we've done quite a bit of work over the course of the last several years that many other people might want to catch up to. Of course, we released some of our environmental data just a few weeks ago. But there really is, I think, a recognition that many of the new entrants have some catch-up to do. They're starting on exploration type work, whereas TMC has done much of that because we are preparing to launch an application to the ISA process with some of that data.

So there will be, I think, a catch-up period for others, and that creates opportunities. One thing to really focus on -- and by the way, you would have noticed there was an announcement within the last couple of months that the team had deep sea vision. We have an MOU to collaborate potentially together, whether it's on some offshore exploration side initiatives or we're potentially down the road on processing and refining. We do want to be able to help the United States create an ecosystem that can potentially create dominance in the metal processing and refining for nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, potentially rare earths and other metals.

And to do that, it would be very helpful to say, hey, TMC will be the center of the hub but perhaps 1 day, that could be a destination for some other entrants as they catch up to some of the offshore work that TMC has done. So we really have been in a unique position where the work that we've done has allowed us to be the one entrant so far, who's been able to apply for the consolidated application process because we've been prepared with that work over the last 15 years and about $700 million in cumulative lending. So the answer, Matt, is we welcome the capital flowing in the space.

We know some of the new players, and I think there will be future opportunities to work together.

Matthew O'Keefe: Absolutely. Definitely demonstrates that there's increasing confidence in the space. So I think that's a positive. If I could ask just one other quick question, maybe a clarification. You are working on some pre-feasibility study was it for the Texas refinery processing refinery. Is that right? And is that -- is there going to be something released to the markets sort of end of year or something like that, just to get a sense of what that might look like?

Craig Shesky: Yes. I think our focus, Matt, is really on the feasible work, specifically for the potential plant for processing and refining in Texas. That feasibility work, really focused on our Tiers, the detail on everything that needs to go into the planning and construction and operation of that plant. And that is really the prerequisite to unlock some of the potential government capital that we know is sitting ready to fund major projects that can truly move the needle. So I would say our focus is going to be on that onshore feasibility work.

There may be opportunities to then say, right, we're working on the prefeasibility side for the plant expansion down the road, let's say, to 12 million tons or more. And then, of course, we put out the prefeasibility study for the NORI-D area in August of last year. And we had the benefit from several years of talking about potential commercial terms with our partner, Allseas. So at some point, perhaps there might be an opportunity to provide some updates to that, but our focus in the near term is going to be the detailed feasibility work that might be to unlock access to government capital.

Matthew O'Keefe: All right. Sounds good. We'll look for the government partnership perhaps in the future.

Operator: And our next question will be coming from the line of Dmitry Silversteyn of Water Tower Research.

Dmitry Silversteyn: I just have a couple of follow-up questions, if I may. We talked about reducing or the opportunity to reduce the operating costs or optimize the cost of offshore collection and transfer portion of your operating expenses. There's a lot of stuff in here like autonomy and going to nuclear that seem to be pretty far into the future. As you're ramping up your sort of first production of 3 million tonnes. How are you thinking about sort of more near term, more realistic abilities to lower the production and transport costs and lower your offshore operating expenses.

Craig Shesky: Yes. Thank you, Dmitry. That's a very good question. And as you rightfully indicated, there's a few items that are more future focused. But on the short term, optimizations in energy use and offshore logistics are definitely something that can be implemented within the short term. So we're talking about getting the first vessel operating and then start implementing some of those already.

Dmitry Silversteyn: Okay. And then to follow up on the previous question about bronze facility. You're looking at, I think, 12 million-ton processing complex. Your Phase 1 at least calls for about $3 million some the year of what modules going up to potentially $7 million as you expand Q3 collectors. Are you leaving that much room for sort of third-party processing? Or do you have expectations of filling that 12 million tonne capacity through the modules that you yourself collect pretty quickly after the start-up at the end of '27, early '28.

Gerard Barron: No, I think this is one of those industries where scale really flows through to the bottom line, Dmitry. And so it's our ambition to put as much of that 12 million tonnes of our own license areas. However, we also want to be really flexible because when you go and establish a processing facility, there is so much investment in civil engineering and securing the ground and putting the roads in and securing power supply that the marginal cost of adding another line for another operator can be very attractive. And of course, we want to have the welcome mat to other operators.

We see it as an opportunity to do deals that will be very beneficial for the industry and very beneficial for the TMC shareholders as well. And so there might be some operators who want to provide chunky capital to us to secure a certain amount of processing throughput. And so we'll have an open mind to that. And we are we are in some of those discussions as we speak now.

Dmitry Silversteyn: Understood, Gerard. And then final question. In your -- you're getting ready to execute your offshore CapEx program and get ready for production. If I remember correctly, originally, this was supposed to be funded 50-50 between you and all seats. You made a comment that Allseas will be funding a significant portion of that now? So should I -- should we take that it's going to be more than 50% of the expected CapEx that policies will be fully?

Gerard Barron: No, and you should continue to plan on us sharing that.

Craig Shesky: I'm going to hop over, Latonia, to the webcast questions to see if there are any other questions that are going to populate on the audio side in the meantime. We have a question from Ivan Schmidt. Given that the expected -- given we're -- excuse me, expecting Q1 2027 permit timing, how should investors think about the political risk around 2026 midterms and potentially transition to new Congress in January 2027. And One of the nice things about this point, I'm happy for Gerard to expand on it. This isn't really a left versus right issue. Is it obvious that this current administration and Republicans have been very supportive of this industry, of course.

But even going back to 2023, it was, I think, June of 2023, when there was first an announcement of the National Defense Authorization Act with President Biden that focused on doing more feasibility work on modules. And of course, Gerard, we had quite a few conversations with many in the administration who saw the need for this new industry and to get there, frankly, before China does. But specifically, on any risk for midterm switch in the population of Congress. It's not going to affect this NOA process. This is based on regulations put in place in the 1980's. [indiscernible] was signed by President Carter implementing regulations from 1981 for exploration in 1989 for commercial recovery.

It's been the law of the land across multiple Democratic and Republican administrations. So we're going through this in a methodical way, and we are not skipping over any steps.

It's why Gerard highlighted in our first slide, the public comment periods that are not going to be compressible when it comes to the permitting time line. that puts us in a good position to say, look, we've done the process exactly right, and we followed the letter of the law and the mandate given to NOA, who, by the way, is in the best position of anybody in the world to regulate this industry as the pioneers of the environmental science to the domes program in the late '70s and early '80s. So we don't think that's going to have any impact on the potential grant or validity of a commercial recovery permit for TMC.

Another question and maybe for Gerard. I believe you touched on this in the last quarterly call from Tim Holl, Q4 2027 is the target for system commissioning. Is that the same as saying it's our hard for full production. So maybe just a little context on some of the timing taken for commissioning and leading to commercial production shortly thereafter.

Gerard Barron: Yes. Thanks, Craig. Look, conditionally means getting the equipment on board, making sure it works, making sure all the components come together nicely. And of course, what that points to is that early in the year after, we'll be out there testing, and we'll be out there making sure that we're in shape for commercial production. So commissioning is really getting everything on the board, putting it all together, making sure they all fit as they enter fit.

Craig Shesky: And the last question that we'll take from the webcast from Ryan Bowley. Will the September 2021 SPAC warrants be extended? Ryan, this is a question we get, I'm sure, from a lot of holders. The terms of that warrant is expiration in September of 2026. Look, it's our ambition to fill this summer with a great amount of news flow, such that we might render that question. So we're going to keep doing everything we can. But any discussions with our Board are going to be announced publicly if and when there's anything to announce there. But it would be our focus just to push the share price to a higher level well in advance of that exercise date.

But nothing else I can say, no other comment I can make at this time. And Latonia, if you want to reprompt the phone line to see if there are any final questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions]. And I would now like to turn the conference back to Gerard Barron for closing remarks.

Gerard Barron: Yes. Thank you. Well, firstly, thanks, everyone, for turning up. And I know a lot of people listen to these reports live but even more listen to the transcript afterwards or read the transcript afterwards. Look, as you can tell, we've -- we turn up to these quarterly earnings reports full of enthusiasm because it's really quite exciting what we're doing, getting a new industry moving. This administration has an absolute focus on reindustrialization. It's an honor to deal with the government agencies, which we deal with because they are filled with people from the private sector who know how to get things done.

They just get -- you get a sense of optimism when you're dealing with this administration and these government agencies. And I hope what that is going to lead to is us getting this industry moving a whole lot faster, a whole lot more reliably and for the benefit of America becoming all independent and for the benefit of those people who supported us along this journey. So thank you, and we look forward to being in communication, a lot with you in the coming months. And on that note, I wish you a good day.

Operator: And this concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. Parts of this article were created using Large Language Models (LLMs) based on The Motley Fool's insights and investing approach. It has been reviewed by our AI quality control systems. Since LLMs cannot (currently) own stocks, it has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability.

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.