Metals Company CEO testifies before congress on deep-sea minerals

TMC announced that its Chairman and CEO Gerard Barron testified before the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations at a hearing titled, “Exploring the Potential of Deep-Sea Mining to Expand American Mineral Production” on April 29, 2025. Subcommittee Chairman Paul A. Gosar opened the session, saying, “I challenge my colleagues in this room to think about the widespread economic, energy, technology and national security implications of deep-sea mining and about our duty to ensure the United States, with its world-best environmental, humanitarian and labor standards, leads the charge to harvest seafloor critical minerals.” In his remarks as an expert witness for the House Majority at the Capitol Building hearing on Tuesday, TMC CEO and Chairman Gerard Barron emphasized that the United States must reclaim its leadership in deep-seabed mineral development to strengthen energy and supply chain security and reinforce national defense and manufacturing. He called attention to the strategic opportunity now before the country to responsibly unlock critical minerals from the deep seabed under existing U.S. law: by 1989, America had developed a robust regulatory regime for deep-seabed mining in the high seas that was fully consistent with international law, commercially viable, and environmentally responsible. “From the 1880s to 1970, America was a mining and processing powerhouse. Since, domestic production sank, leaving America dangerously dependent on adversaries. We can change this, without sacrificing American landscapes or communities. Four days sailing from San Diego lies the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, where polymetallic nodules sit 2.5 miles deep on the seafloor. Rich in nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper, these nodules hold more of these minerals than all known land-based reserves combined. With seabed minerals, America can end critical mineral dependence; reclaim leadership in offshore innovation; inspire generations of American engineers, scientists, and mariners; and create over 100,000 American jobs and generate over $300 billion in GDP.” . Barron also directed the Committee to his written submission “for a detailed rebuttal of common environmental myths used to confuse the public.”