TMC the metals company Inc., established in Vancouver, Canada, in 2019 (originally incorporated as Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation), is a firm dedicated to deep-sea mineral exploration. Its core operations involve discovering, processing, and refining polymetallic nodules found on the seabed of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean, situated southwest of San Diego, California. The company, through its subsidiaries, holds exploration licenses for three distinct polymetallic nodule areas within this CCZ.