The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it has begun talks with the Cook Islands over seabed exploration.
The Metals Company (TMC) CEO Gerard Barron praised the U.S. move to initiate talks with the Cook Islands over seabed resources, but warned that China could take advantage if Washington, D.C., does not step in.
“The Cooks have an abundant seafloor resource, and it will fall [into] the way of China if [the] USA doesn’t show some love,” Barron wrote in a post on X after hailing the talks as a “great initiative.”
Located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand in the South Pacific, the Cook Islands comprise 15 islands with a total population of just over 15,000, according to 2021 data. It was a territory of New Zealand until 1965, when it became self-governing but in free association with New Zealand. The residents have New Zealand passports and citizenship.
“The Government of the United States of America has begun discussions with the Government of the Cook Islands to support the research necessary to inform seabed exploration and responsible development within the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” the state department said on Tuesday.
The outreach from the United States comes at a time when China is boosting its influence in the Pacific region. Earlier this year, China and the Cook Islands signed an agreement to collaborate on a range of areas, including education and deep-sea exploration, excluding security.
The State Department further noted that U.S.-linked firms are at the forefront of deep-seabed mineral research and exploration in the Cook Islands.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about TMC was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing, while retail chatter was ‘extremely high.’
Earlier this week, TMC released two independent technical economic assessments outlining the financial and operational prospects of its deep-sea mining initiatives in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean.
Together, the reports project a combined value of $23.6 billion for the company’s NORI and TOML resource areas.
TMC’s stock has more than quadrupled this year, driven by hopes of the company accumulating a significant share of the rare earth metals market that provides key components to electronics, electric vehicles, and other important industries.
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