Ocean Minerals CEO Hans Smit responds to questions about whether deep-sea resource extraction faces fundamental technological barriers or is already technically solved.
Assertion Supported
Smit: Trump deep-sea mining order covers international and foreign waters
“And I think the other important thing about the executive order is that it has stipulated that it's not just US territorial waters. This is international waters as well as other exclusive zones.”
Disclosure
Smit: Ocean Minerals avoids U.S. waters due to weak investor legal protections
“We, as a company, for example, are not inclined to explore in, ah, US territorial waters, ah, because our investors are not given the kind of Assurances and rights that we would get in other areas that would allow us to get a return on an investment if we were…”
Prediction Open · timeframe May 2029
Smit: Cook Islands seabed mining is 2 to 4 years from production
“We probably two to four years away from first production is, is where we are in the cooks.”
Assertion Supported
Smit: Land-based mines require 4x to 8x the tonnage of seabed nodules
“The other thing to consider is that we are bringing up one ton of material, and in that one ton of material, we are producing the same amount of metal
As you would need to have anywhere between three and five land-based mines. So for them to get the same amoun…”
Prediction Open · timeframe May 2028
Smit: Ocean Minerals project will yield ~$500M annual free cash flow
“The mining system CAPEX is around five hundred million dollars you know, the processing plant probably around two billion dollars but what,
For that investment, do you get in return for your project? So, you know, our project is in anywhere between three and f…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smit: Manganese ensures Ocean Minerals' profitability despite cobalt and nickel price crashes
“With the recent crash of the cobalt price and nickel For all sorts of reasons, and that's the topic for a whole different discussion, but particularly those two metals with the depression on their prices, our project remains profitable, and the reason it's pro…”