The Metals Company Welcomes Prominent Sustainability Strategist Brendan May to its Board of Directors

Brendan May Joins TMC Board

Mr. May is chairman and founder of Robertsbridge, a leading global sustainability consultancy he formed in 2010. He has spent more than 25 years in the sustainability space, initially working on oceans sustainability as CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and more recently on deforestation as European Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance.

• Mr. May is chairman and founder of Robertsbridge, a leading global sustainability consultancy he formed in 2010. He has spent more than 25 years in the sustainability space, initially working on oceans sustainability as CEO of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and more recently on deforestation as European Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance
• He joins TMC’s Board to help the company transition into commercial production as global policymakers increasingly focus on the potential of deep-seafloor nodules to reduce the lifecycle planetary and human costs of land-based sources of the metals that underpin the energy transition and global development

NEW YORK, June 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or “the Company”), an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, today announced the appointment of Brendan May to its Board of Directors as it seeks to harness the potential of deep-seafloor polymetallic nodules for the energy transition and wider global development.

As a former Chief Executive of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and European Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance, Mr. May has spent over two decades at the forefront of sustainability challenges in globally significant ecosystems. In 2010, he formed renowned global sustainability consultancy, Robertsbridge, whose counsel has been sought by leading companies and NGOs around the world.

Gerard Barron, CEO & Chairman of TMC said: “We are thrilled to have Brendan join the Board. His track record speaks for itself—Brendan does not shy away from taking on some of the most difficult sustainability challenges, building bridges between environmental NGOs and companies, and finding pragmatic paths toward better sustainability outcomes. In my experience, Brendan is unafraid to challenge the premises behind some of the environmental movement’s positions and, equally, challenge some of the positions taken by TMC’s management. We welcome and look forward to his contributions as a TMC Board Director.”

Mr. May commented: “As we grapple with the trade-offs required to decarbonize the global economy, a broad range of opinions exist on the harvesting of nodules. The issues are complicated, nuanced and polarizing but, since first meeting TMC’s management team, I have been consistently impressed by their commitment to transparency, willingness to engage their most hostile critics, and their significant investments in ocean science, which are helping to build a far more detailed and data-driven picture of the actual impacts of this industry. Already, I have found many opportunities for meaningful dialogue and discussion with thoughtful and pragmatic environmentalists, policy makers and scientists on this topic. While some advocacy groups continue to voice their concerns, I strongly urge people to engage with the actual data, which should always be the north star of any serious attempt to solve environmental challenges.”

The appointment of Mr. May further strengthens TMC’s Board as it seeks to transition into commercial production while global policymakers increasingly focus on the potential of deep-seafloor nodules to reduce the lifecycle planetary and human costs of land-based sources of the metals that underpin the energy transition and global development. In April, the Company announced that renowned Silicon Valley investor and former long-serving Board member of Tesla and current Board member of SpaceX, Steve Jurvetson, had joined its Board as Vice Chairman and Special Advisor to the CEO.

About The Metals Company
The Metals Company is an explorer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the global energy transition with the least possible negative impacts on planet and people and (2) trace, recover and recycle the metals we supply to help create a metals commons that can be used in perpetuity. The Company through its subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga. More information is available at www.metals.co.

Contacts
Media | media@metals.co
Investors | investors@metals.co

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements and information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words such as “aims,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “will” and variations of these words or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Mr. May’s ability to contribute to the Company’s sustainability objectives and commercialization of its business, the increasing adoption of electric vehicles and alternative energy resources, the increasing focus of industry stakeholders in securing critical metals, the potential of deep-sea polymetallic nodules for the energy transition and wider global development, and the ability of the Company to effectively and efficiently collect, process and transport lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among other things: the Company’s strategies and future financial performance; the ISA's ability to timely adopt the Mining Code and/or willingness to review and/or approve a plan of work for exploitation under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea; the Company’s ability to obtain exploitation contracts or approved plans of work for exploitation for its areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone; regulatory uncertainties and the impact of government regulation and political instability on the Company’s resource activities; changes to any of the laws, rules, regulations or policies to which the Company is subject, including the terms of the final Mining Code, if any, adopted by ISA and the potential timing thereof; the impact of extensive and costly environmental requirements on the Company’s operations; environmental liabilities; the impact of polymetallic nodule collection on biodiversity in the Clarion Clipperton Zone and recovery rates of impacted ecosystems; the Company’s ability to develop minerals in sufficient grade or quantities to justify commercial operations; the lack of development of seafloor polymetallic nodule deposit; the Company’s ability to successfully enter into binding agreements with Allseas Group S.A. and other parties in which it is in discussions, if any; uncertainty in the estimates for mineral resource calculations from certain contract areas and for the grade and quality of polymetallic nodule deposits; risks associated with natural hazards; uncertainty with respect to the specialized treatment and processing of polymetallic nodules that the Company may recover; risks associated with collective, development and processing operations, including with respect to the development of onshore processing capabilities and capacity and Allseas Group S.A.’s expected development efforts with respect to the Project Zero offshore system; the Company’s dependence on Allseas Group S.A.; fluctuations in transportation costs; fluctuations in metals prices; testing and manufacturing of equipment; risks associated with the Company’s limited operating history, limited cash resources and need for additional financing; risks associated with the Company’s intellectual property; Low Carbon Royalties’ limited operating history and other risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause the Company’s actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, that are described in greater detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on March 25, 2024. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether because of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/622ca0c9-044f-44f7-abda-f3ce5c979839