TMC Stock Pops, Draws Retail Buzz As Lockheed Martin Reportedly Seeks Deep-Sea Mining Partners

U.S. regulators reportedly granted two eastern Pacific mining licenses in international waters to the U.S. aerospace giant in the early 1980s.

The Metals Company (TMC) stock rose 10.8% on Monday after The Financial Times reported that aerospace firm Lockheed Martin is discussing with mining companies the potential exploitation of its Pacific seabed licensing areas.

“We are in early stages of conversations with several companies about giving them access to our licenses and allowing them to process those materials,” Chief Operating Officer Frank St John said to the London-based newspaper in an interview.

U.S. regulators reportedly granted two eastern Pacific mining licenses in international waters to the U.S. aerospace giant in the early 1980s, but the firm never started work on them. As per the report, St John declined to elaborate on the potential value of the deposits in Lockheed’s licenses, saying only that the mining companies had “done the homework and determined there is value there”.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about TMC was in the ‘neutral’ territory during premarket hours on Tuesday.

The International Seabed Authority is scheduled to meet in Jamaica this month to discuss the conditions under which it would allow mining to start. However, dozens of nations have raised concerns about deep-sea mining due to its impact on marine life.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump has already issued executive orders to allow companies to extract minerals from the seabed, aiming to reduce the country's reliance on China, which dominates the rare earth market.

One retail trader said that Lockheed has been “out of the game” for a while, and a partnership with TMC was the logical move.

TMC has already applied for a commercial permit to extract nodules at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

TMC stock has more than fivefold this year.

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