Automated translation by Reuters using machine learning and AI, please refer to the following warning: https://bit.ly/rtrsauto
– Initially, the facility would process 200,000 metric tons per year
– The goal is to be operational before Donald Trump leaves office
– Companies refuse to say if they are in talks with the US government for funding
– Seabeds are seen as a source of minerals, raising environmental concerns
(Addition of Cobalt Blue stock movement in paragraph 6)
by Ernest Scheyder and Melanie Burton
Mining company Glomar Minerals and Australian company Cobalt Blue Holdings COB.AX stated on Monday that they plan to build a refinery in the United States to process critical minerals extracted from the Pacific Ocean floor within three years.
This initiative comes amidst a growing interest in exploiting the planet’s seabeds for reserves of nickel, manganese, copper, and other essential minerals used in electronics, weapons, and various consumer goods, despite environmental concerns.
Demand for these minerals is expected to rise in the coming years, prompting Washington, Tokyo, and other governments to seek new and alternative sources to counter Beijing’s dominance in the mineral industry.
Glomar and Cobalt Blue aim to select a US site by June for the refinery and start commercial production before the end of President Donald Trump’s term in 2029.
To achieve this, the partners will need to secure funding for the facility, which is expected to cost less than $500 million and initially process 200,000 metric tons per year, with room for expansion.
Shares of Cobalt Blue, based in North Sydney (Australia), rose over 7% on Monday morning on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The companies declined to discuss the commercial terms of their partnership and whether they were in talks with the US government for funding. No customer has signed a supply contract yet.
“Deep-sea minerals change the game and redefine US dependence on essential minerals, much like how shale oil and gas reshaped global energy geopolitics,” said Robbie Diamond, executive director of Glomar, to Reuters.
Rival company The Metals Company TMC.N announced last week that it was in talks to lease land in Texas for its own refinery, expected to produce 12 million metric tons per year. However, the project’s success depends on Trump administration funding.
TECHNOLOGY COULD BOOST THE INDUSTRY
Cobalt Blue, developing a cobalt mine and refinery in Australia, will provide its technology to separate at least five minerals from polymetallic nodules.
While extracting deep-sea nodules presents technical and engineering challenges, processing these nodules is also difficult, and no commercial nodule refinery is currently operating. Both companies essentially bet that Cobalt Blue’s technology can help launch a new industry.
“Polymetallic nodules offer the opportunity to provide multiple essential minerals from a single resource stream,” said Andrew Tong, CEO of Cobalt Blue.
Founded in 2025, Glomar holds exploration leases in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific previously partly held by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin LMT.N.
Glomar is “looking to expand its resource base,” said Diamond, while refusing to provide details.
INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS
The refinery projects come amid growing geopolitical tensions surrounding deep-sea mining. In January, Donald Trump stated he would expedite permits for companies looking to mine in international waters.
The International Seabed Authority – established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the US has not ratified – has been working for years on mining operation standards but failed to finalize them at the beginning of the month.
Trump’s decision in January aims to bypass the ISA. The Metals Company requested Trump to issue its own international permit. Glomar did not disclose if they made the same request to the Trump administration, although they have not yet officially applied.
