Over the weekend, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. is looking to buy as much as $1 billion of critical minerals to stockpile.
The Metals Company (TMC) stock drew retail attention over the weekend as the traders pondered whether the U.S. government could acquire a stake in the company amid an ongoing trade tussle with China.
Over the weekend, the Financial Times reported that the U.S. is looking to buy as much as $1 billion of critical minerals to stockpile. The newspaper, citing public filings published in recent months by the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency, said that planned purchases include as much as $500 million of cobalt, up to $245 million of antimony, and $100 million of tantalum.
The move comes at a time when the U.S. is looking to reduce its reliance on China, which dominates the world’s supply of critical minerals. Last week, China imposed curbs on exports of rare earth technology, which eventually led to President Donald Trump threatening 100% import tariffs on Chinese goods.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about TMC stock was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing.
“I feel something big coming for tomorrow morning. The stars are aligned,” one user wrote, citing the FT article.
“A U.S.–TMC deal could drop any moment. The setup is insane — don’t blink,” posted another bullish retail trader.
TMC is among a handful of companies which has been exploring the bottom of the ocean to extract nodules containing high concentrations of manganese, cobalt, copper, and nickel, key elements in lithium-ion batteries. Earlier this year, FT also reported that the Trump administration is considering creating a stockpile of the nodules.
In April, Trump instructed the federal government to ease and expedite the approval process for seabed mining, and TMC has already applied for a mining permit. In recent days, the Trump administration has also agreed to invest in mining firms such as Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals.
Last week, The Information reported that two senior administration officials attended the company’s investors’ meeting in August, sparking further conversations on Stocktwits about the U.S. acquiring a stake.
TMC stock has surged over sevenfold this year on optimism surrounding critical minerals stocks and deep-sea mining.
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