* The installation would initially 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 financing talks with the U.S. government
* Seabeds are considered a source of minerals, raising environmental concerns
(Added movement of Cobalt Blue’s stock in paragraph 6)
by Ernest Scheyder and Melanie Burton
Mining company Glomar Minerals and Australian company Cobalt Blue Holdings COB.AX said 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 amid increasing 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 facing environmental criticism.
The 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 U.S. site by June for the refinery and start commercial production before President Donald Trump’s term ends in 2029.
To achieve this, the partners will need 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.
Cobalt Blue’s shares, based in North Sydney, Australia, rose by over 7% on Monday morning on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The companies have declined to discuss the commercial terms of their partnership and to specify if they are in talks with the U.S. government for funding. No customer has signed a supply contract yet.
“Deep-sea minerals are game-changers, reshaping U.S. reliance on essential minerals, much like shale oil and gas reshaped global energy geopolitics,” said Robbie Diamond, executive director of Glomar, in an interview with Reuters.
Rival company The Metals Company TMC.N said 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, company officials noted that this project depends on funding from the Trump administration.
TECHNOLOGY COULD BOOST THE INDUSTRY
Cobalt Blue, which is developing a cobalt mine and refinery in Australia, will provide its technology to separate at least five minerals from polymetallic nodules.
While extracting minerals from deep-sea nodules poses technical and engineering challenges, processing these nodules is also complex, and no commercial nodule refinery is currently operational. Both companies essentially bank on Cobalt Blue’s technology to kickstart 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.
Established in 2025, Glomar holds exploration leases in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific previously partly owned 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 as geopolitical tensions rise around deep-sea mining. In January, Donald Trump announced plans to expedite permits for companies seeking to mine international waters.
The International Seabed Authority – established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the United States has not ratified – has been working on mining regulations for years but failed to formalize them at its meeting earlier this month.
Donald Trump’s decision in January aims to bypass the ISA. The Metals Company has requested Donald Trump to issue its own international permit. Glomar has not disclosed if it made the same request to the Trump administration, although it has not yet officially submitted such a request.
