With October in full swing, many are enjoying the local trees producing its annual spectacle of changing foliage. A considerable number of investors, however, are turning their attention to the ocean and deep sea mining business The Metals Company (TMC 2.85%).
According to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, shares of The Metals Company are up 26.3% from the end of last Friday's trading session through 12:21 p.m. on Thursday.
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The speculation machine keeps on humming
The Metals Company hasn't reported any positive developments this week, but that's not stopping investors from launching the stock higher.
Setting its sights on the seafloor, The Metals Company hopes to collect polymetallic nodules which will be used to produce several critical base metals: cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese. Because these metals are all deemed essential to the nation's security, the U.S. Geological Survey included them on the 2025 draft List of Critical Minerals.
Investors are enthusiastic about the company -- absent of any news -- because they're suspecting that the Donald Trump administration will choose to partner with the company to shore up domestic supply of critical minerals as it had done with rare-earth metals producer MP Materials. Last July, the U.S. government made a sizable investment in the company, making it the largest shareholder of MP Materials stock.
Is it too late to buy The Metals Company?
Shares of The Metals Company may be soaring, but it's important for potential investors to remember that the stock hasn't commenced deep sea mining operations yet -- and there's no certainty it ever will. Until the U.N. organization, the International Seabed Authority, provides the regulatory framework for deep sea mining, The Metals Company sits in limbo, and its stock remains extremely speculative. At this point, only investors comfortable with a high-risk stock should consider adding it to their buy lists.
