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Nature of Operations | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2022
Nature of Operations |
Nature of Operations | 1.Nature of Operations TMC the metals company Inc. (“TMC” or the “Company”), formerly known as Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (“SOAC”), was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company limited by shares on December 18, 2019 and continued as a corporation under the laws of the province of British Columbia, Canada on September 9, 2021. On September 9, 2021, the Company completed its business combination (the “Business Combination”) with DeepGreen Metals Inc. (“DeepGreen”). The Company’s corporate office, registered address and records office is located at 10th floor, 595 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 2T5. The Company’s common shares and warrants to purchase common shares are listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under tickers “TMC” and “TMCWW”, respectively. In connection with closing of the Business Combination, DeepGreen merged with a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOAC and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. DeepGreen was determined to be the accounting acquirer and therefore, all information prior to the Business Combination, including the prior period financial information, represents the financial condition and operating results of DeepGreen. The Company is a deep-sea minerals exploration company focused on the collection and processing of polymetallic nodules found on the seafloor in international waters of the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean (“CCZ”), located approximately 1,300 nautical miles southwest of San Diego, California. These nodules contain high grades of four metals (nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese) which can be used as (i) feedstock for battery cathode precursors (nickel and cobalt sulfates, or intermediate nickel-copper-cobalt matte) for electric vehicles (“EV”) and renewable energy storage markets, (ii) copper cathode for EV wiring, clean energy transmission and other applications and (iii) manganese silicate for manganese alloy production required for steel production. Exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals in international waters is regulated by the International Seabed Authority (“ISA”), an intergovernmental organization established pursuant to the 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The ISA grants contracts to sovereign states or to private contractors who are sponsored by a sovereign state. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (“NORI”), was granted an exploration contract (the “NORI Exploration Contract”) by the ISA in July 2011 under the sponsorship of the Republic of Nauru (“Nauru”) giving NORI exclusive rights to explore for polymetallic nodules in an area covering 74,830 km2 in the CCZ (“NORI Area”). On March 31, 2020, the Company acquired Tonga Offshore Mining Limited (“TOML”), which was granted an exploration contract (the “TOML Exploration Contract”) by the ISA in January 2012 under the sponsorship of the Kingdom of Tonga (“Tonga”) and has exclusive rights to explore for polymetallic nodules covering an area of 74,713 km2 in the CCZ (“TOML Area”). Marawa Research and Exploration Limited (“Marawa”), an entity owned and sponsored by the Republic of Kiribati (“Kiribati”), was granted rights by the ISA to polymetallic nodules exploration in an area of 74,990 km2 in the CCZ (“Marawa Area”). In 2013, the Company through its subsidiary DeepGreen Engineering Pte. Ltd. (“DGE”) entered into an option agreement (the “Marawa Option Agreement”) with Marawa which granted DGE exclusive rights to manage and carry out all exploration and exploitation in the Marawa Area in return for a royalty payable to Marawa. The Company is working with its strategic partner and investor, Allseas Group S.A. (“Allseas”), to develop a system to collect, lift and transport nodules from the seafloor to shore and to subsequently convert that system into an early commercial production system (Note 4). The realization of the Company’s assets and attainment of profitable operations is dependent upon many factors including, among other things: financing being arranged by the Company to continue operations, development of a nodule collection system for the recovery of polymetallic nodules from the seafloor as well as development of processing technology for the treatment of polymetallic nodules, the establishment of mineable reserves, the commercial and technical feasibility of seafloor polymetallic nodule collection and processing, metal prices, and regulatory approvals and environmental permitting for commercial operations. The outcome of these matters cannot presently be determined because they are contingent on future events and may not be fully under the Company’s control. Since March 2020, several measures have been implemented by the governments in Canada, the United States of America (“US”), Australia, and the rest of the world in the form of office closures and limiting the movement of personnel in response to the increased impact from the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”). While the impact of COVID-19 has not been significant to the Company’s business operations to date, the current circumstances are dynamic and could negatively impact the Company’s business operations, exploration and development plans, results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, major products or services, principal markets including location, and the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination, including but not limited to, assets, revenues, or earnings. For an entity that has not commenced principal operations, disclosures about the risks and uncertainties related to the activities in which the entity is currently engaged and an understanding of what those activities are being directed toward. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (a) -URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e5967-108592 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479 + Details
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