Deep Sea Mining: companies, contractors and specialists involved in deep sea mining

There are a number of different companies that are currently operating around the world in subsea mining and deep sea mining. This is a short list of some of the most advanced companies in subsea and deep sea mining.

License Holders

Production Support Vessels

Services Contractors

A small subset of these companies are publicly traded, whilst the ecosystem diagram shows how each interacts:

Business ecosystem diagram of the subsea and deep sea mining industry

The Metals Company

License Holder
Clarion Clipperton Zone
Founded 2011
Publicly Traded

The Metals Company is a Vancouver-based operating company that holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining polymetallic nodules. It is a publicly traded company that trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker TMC.

The Metals Company is widely regarded as being one of the most advanced deep sea mining companies. It has carried out a number of exploratory and test cruises in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, including a collector test of a 1/5th scale collector and RALS.

The Metals Company has a partnership with Allseas, and uses Allsea's "Hidden Gem" as their production support vessel for deep sea mining operations.

The Hidden Gem subsea mining production support vessel

Allseas

Production Support Vessel Contractor
Collector Services Company
Founded 1985

Allseas is a Swiss-based offshore contractor that specialises in offshore pipe laying, offshore heavy lifts and subsea construction. Their subsidiary, Allseas Engineering B.V., is based in the Netherlands and provides project management and engineering services; one part of which is for deep sea mining.

Allseas provides crucial deep sea mining services to The Metals Company. They have developed a subsea collector, collector launch and recovery system, and riser air lift system. These are deployed from the "Hidden Gem" production support vessel, which is a modified deep water drillship.

Transocean

Production Support Vessel Contractor
Collector Services Company
Founded 1973
Publicly Traded

Transocean is an American company, and is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. They operate around 37 mobile offshore drilling units, and primarily provide drilling contractor services to oil and gas companies

Transcoean also has a partnership with GSR, in which they have provided the "Olympia" deepwater drilling rig to be converted into a production support vessel.

Global Sea Mineral Resources

License Holder
Production Support Vessel Operator
Collector Services Company
Clarion Clipperton Zone
Founded 2012

Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR) is a subsidiary of the Belgian dredging group DEME. GSR holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining polymetallic nodules.

GSR is working on a proprietary subsea collector vehicle, and has a joint-venture with Transocean to convert their "Olympia" deepwater drillship into a production support vessel.

Loke

License Holder
Collector Services Company
Norwegian EEZ
Clarion Clipperton Zone
Founded 2019

Loke is a Norwegian company that holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining polymetallic nodules, and are actively pursuing licenses in the Norwegian EEZ.

Loke is developing a range of different technologies. These include subsea collectors for collecting polymetallic nodules, as well as UAVs for various roles including surveying, sampling and drilling.

Loke subsea polymetallic nodule collector

Loke licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Green Minerals

License Holder
Norwegian EEZ
Clarion Clipperton Zone
Founded 2020
Publicly Traded

Green Minerals is a Norwegian pure play marine minerals company that explores and operates licenses. They were launched on the Euronext growth stock exchange in March 2021.

Green Minerals are working on a licence award in the Norwegian EEZ for subsea minerals, and have an MoU with a current licence holder in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

Adpeth

License Holder
Services Contractor
Norwegian Shelf

Adepth is a Norwegian company that is positioned to acquire mineral licenses in the Norwegian EEZ. They have also developed a number of technical solutions, including for improved surveying of subsea mineral reserves, along with data processing.

Scanmudring

Services Contractor

Scanmudring is a Norwegian offshore and subsea services company, that specializes in offshore wind, oil and gas, aquaculture, and salvage and recovery operations. They have performed a large amount of subsea operations, and have converted equipment for milling, crushing, drilling and extraction of subsea minerals.

Deep Reach Technology

Engineering Consultancy

Deep Reach Technology is an ocean engineering consultancy, and is one of the leading experts in deep-sea mining technology and innovations.

Their team has decades of experience in offshoring engineering and has been active in deep-sea mining since the 1970s. They hold a number of patents for different technologies, including a trenching system for mining seafloor-massive sulphide deposits.

Scandinavian Ocean Minerals

License Holder
Baltic Sea

Scandinavian Ocean Minerals is a Swedish company that has plans to harvest polymetallic nodules from the Bothnian Bay and the Baltic Sea.

The Bothnian Bay has polymetallic nodule abundances reaching 15-40 kg/m² in an ~200km² area, which is the equivalent to around 3 million tonnes of nodules. The Baltic Sea itself has more sporadic and varied abundances, which can reach 10-16 kg/m² at relatively shallow depths. See "Deep-Sea Mining" for more details.

Scandinavian Ocean Mineral's model for harvesting polymetallic nodules

Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR)

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge

BGR is a German agency within the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. It holds licenses for Polymetallic Nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and Seabed Massive Sulphides along the mid-Indian Ocean ridge.

Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe licenses for seabed massive sulphides

Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe licenses for polymetallic nodules

Ifremer

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Ifremer is a French oceanographic institution located in Brest, France. It operates a number of research vessels, subs, ROVs and UAVs. Ifremer holds licenses for Polymetallic Nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and Seabed Massive Sulphides along the mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Ifremer licenses for polymetallic nodules

Ifremer licenses for seabed massive sulphides

Marawa Research and Exploration Ltd

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Marawa is a state-owned company that holds licenses for Polymetallic Nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for the island nation of Kiribati

Marawa licenses for polymetallic nodules

JOGMEC

License Holder
Cobalt-Rich Crusts
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Japanese EEZ
Prime Crust Zone / Northwest Pacific Ocean

JOGMEC is a Japanese government "Independent Administrative Institution", whose purpose is to ensure stable supply of oil, gas, metals and mineral resources for use in Japan.

JOGMEC has licenses to mine Seabed Massive Sulphides and Cobalt-Rich Crusts in the waters of the Japanese EEZ and the Prime Crust Zone / Northwest Pacific Ocean.

Image of JOGMEC subsea mining equipment mining cobalt-rich crusts

JOGMEC licenses for cobalt-rich crusts in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Ministry of Earth Sciences

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Central Indian Ocean Basin
Indian Ocean Ridge

The Ministry of Earth Sciences is an Indian government ministry whose objective is to look after Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean Science & Technology and Seismology in an integrated manner. The Deep Ocean Mission is an initiative to undertake deep ocean minerals exploration in the Indian EEZ and deep ocean.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences holds licenses with the ISA for Polymetallic Nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, and Seabed Massive Sulphides along the Indian Ocean Ridge of the Indian Ocean.

Image of Government of India Ministry of Earth Sciences licenses for seabed massive sulphides and polymetallic nodules in the Indian Ocean

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Cobalt-Rich Crusts
Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge
Prime Crust Zone

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is a South Korean government organization responsible for the maritime and fisheries sectors in general. As part of this mandate, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has license blocks for a variety of subsea minerals in different areas around the world, including:

Polymetallic Nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Seabed Massive Sulphides along the mid-Indian Ocean ridge
Cobalt-Rich Crusts in the prime crust zone

Government of Korea license blocks for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Zone

Government of Korea license blocks for seabed massive sulphides in the mid-Indian Ocean ridge

Government of Korea license blocks for cobalt-rich crusts in the prime crust one of the North Pacific Ocean

UK Seabed Resources

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone

UK Seabed Resources (UKSR) holds 2 licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining Polymetallic Nodules.

It was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the British arm of Lockheed Martin, a large US defense manufacturer. However, it was sold to Norwegian-based Loke Minerals in early 2023.

UKSR also holds a 19.9% interest in Ocean Mineral Singapore (a subsidiary of Singapore's Keppel Corporation) ISA licence in the CCZ.

UKSR licenses for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Blue Minerals Jamaica

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Blue Minerals Jamaica is a Jamaican company that holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for mining Polymetallic Nodules.

Blue Minerals Jamaica licenses for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA)

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Cobalt-Rich Crusts
Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge
Prime Crust Zone

China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) holds a range of different licenses in international waters on behalf of China. These include:

Polymetallic Nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone
Seabed Massive Sulphides along the Southwest Indian Ocean ridge
Cobalt-Rich Crusts in the prime crust zone

hina Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) license blocks for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion Clipperton Zone

China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) license blocks for seabed massive sulphides in the mid-Indian Ocean ridge

China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) license blocks for cobalt-rich crusts in the prime crust one of the North Pacific Ocean

China Minmetals Corporation

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Clarion-Clipperton Zone

China Minmetals is a state-owned Chinese corporation that is one of the world's largest metals and minerals trading companies. China Minmetals holds licenses in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone for harvesting Polymetallic Nodules.

China Minmetals licenses for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Beijing Pioneer Hi-tech Development Corporation Limited

License Holder
Polymetallic Nodules
Cobalt-Rich Crusts
Prime Crust Zone

Beijing Pioneer Hi-tech Development Corporation Limited (BPHDC) is a state-owned enterprise affiliated with the Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China. BPHDC holds licenses in the Prime Crust Zone for harvesting Polymetallic Nodules and Cobalt-Rich Crusts.

Beijing Pioneer Hi-tech Development Corporation Limited licenses for polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich crusts in the Prime Crust Zone

Deep Sea Mining Finance

License Holder
Seabed Massive Sulphides
Papua New Guinea
Tonga

DSMF holds licenses for mining Seabed Massive Sulphides in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Papua New Guinea and Tonga. They hold multiple patents around seafloor exploration, production and recovery of seabest massive sulphides.

Impossible Metals

Collector Services Company

Impossible Metals is a collector services company based out of Collingwood, Canada. They are developing a polymetallic nodule subsea collector that uses image recognition and articulated arms to selectively pick nodules from the ocean floor.

Impossible Metals polymetallic nodule collector

Blue Nodules

Collector Services Company

Blue Nodules is a European research and innovation project to develop a deep sea mining system for harvesting polymetallic nodules from the sea floor with minimum environmental impact.

Blue Nodules polymetallic nodule collector

KRISO

Collector Services Company

The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean engineering (KRISO) built and tested a 25 t polymetallic nodule harvester in 2013. It is unclear how this project has progressed and what is the current state of development.

CIC Limited

License Holder
Cook Islands EEZ

CIC Ltd is a Cook Islands based deep sea mining company with licences in the Cook Islands EEZ for mining polymetallic nodules.

They hold 2,592 license blocks for a total area of 211,545 km², lying across the Penrhyn Basin, Aitutaki Passage, Samo Niue Basin, and the Southern Cooks Basin. Their exploration license for exploring for polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands EEZ can be found here.

Ocean Minerals LLC

License Holder
Penrhyn Basin

Ocean Minerals is a Houston-based deep sea mining company with licences in the Cook Islands EEZ for mining polymetallic nodules. Their management team has significant expertise in deep sea mining, including with the Kennecott Consortium and polymetallic nodule mining in the 1970's. Ocean Minerals is the main holding company for Moana Minerals.

Moana Minerals

License Holder
Penrhyn Basin

Moana Minerals is a Rarotonga / Cook Islands based deep sea mining company with licences in the Cook Islands EEZ for mining polymetallic nodules. They are a subsidiary of Ocean Minerals.

They hold 288 license blocks for a total area of 23,630 km², and their exploration license for exploring for polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands EEZ in the Penrhyn Basin can be found here.

Per a Business Wire report from Odyssey Marine, their mineral resources as of Jun-2023 per NI43-101 / JORC standards were:

Indicated: 130 million t wet nodules
Inferred: 430 million t wet nodules
~60 million t Manganese
~2 million t Cobalt
~500,000 t Copper
~600,000 t Rare Earth Elements

Moana Minerals Licenses in the Cook Islands EEZ

Cobalt Seabed Resources Limited

License Holder
Penrhyn Basin

Cobalt Seabed Resources is a Rarotonga / Cook Islands based deep sea mining company with licences in the Cook Islands EEZ for mining polymetallic nodules.

They hold 261 license blocks for a total area of 19,479 km², and their exploration license for exploring for polymetallic nodules in the Cook Islands EEZ in the Penrhyn Basin can be found here.

Cobalt Seabed Resources Licenses in the Cook Islands EEZ

Subsea Mining Companies