"783 Million Later…”
How A New Bar Was Set In Mining PR In 2023
The true story of how a coordinated and highly-targeted PR campaign
turned a 70-cent busted SPAC into a $1 BILLION turnaround story in just six weeks.
The Metals Company (TMC) has everything going against.
Its resources are in the remotest mine in history, it’s under the sea at about the same depth as the Titanic.
It’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The tiny island nation of Nauru (population 10,000) has the official legal jurisdiction.
And it’s headed by Gerrard Barron, who the Wall Street Journal said, “The first time Gerard Barron tried to mine the sea floor, the company he backed lost a half-billion dollars of investor money, got crosswise with a South Pacific government, destroyed sensitive seabed habitat and ultimately went broke.”
The market was wise to this.
The SPAC that turned into The Metals company has been in a long and steady dive since it first made the deep-sea mining acquisition.
But that all changed in the last few weeks.
The chart below shows TMC shares have come alive.
Here’s how a left-for-dead, busted SPAC deal that was rangebound from $0.60 to $0.80 and sliding into oblivion sparked the biggest turnaround stories of 2023.
Within a month it became a $1 billion epic success story that traded 100 million shares above $2.00 per share in two weeks on its way to becoming a $1 billion success story.
There were no fundamental changes.
But the stock has been featured everywhere, and even started getting Top 10 posting traffic on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets.
There are three legs to this stool:
- Influencer campaign
- Congress boost
- Media blitz
Here they are:
Influencer - 6/11 - Pre-tease kickoff “event” (and stock reveal)
Ray Blanco, editor of Paradigm Press (Agora Financial)
“Because this Thursday, June 15 at 7:00 PM ET I’m going live with one of the most unusual – and one of the most lucrative – investment opportunities I’ve ever come across”
Influencer - 6/15 - The “reveal”
$16 Trillion Dollar Super-Mine Discovered In The Middle Of The Pacific Ocean
(Original link)
U.S. Congress Action - 6/30
US Congress Directs Pentagon to Assess Domestic Processing of Polymetallic Nodules under National Defense Authorization Act
Amendment H.R 2670 to National Defense Authorization Act
Stated goal: Sponsored by Rob Wittman (R-VA1), member of both House Armed Services and House Natural Resource committees
“To counter China’s growing hold on the global supply chain, it is essential that the United States secures its own innovative supply of critical and strategic minerals and materials, including polymetallic nodules, to decrease reliance on sources from foreign adversaries.”
The Press Blitz Follow-Up
Building up from fringe to legacy media:
RealClearPolicy - 6/27 - Congress Needs to Be Smart to Beat China in Deep Sea Mining
Bloomberg Podcast - 6/28 - Fed, Chips, Battery Mining, Markets, and Real Estate
The Economist - 7/2 - Deep-sea mining may soon ease the world’s battery-metal shortage
S&P - 7/3 - Infographic: Deep-sea mining edges closer to reality amid surging demand for critical raw materials
Associated Press - 7/3 - Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen?
The Economist - 7/6 - The world needs more battery metals. Time to mine the seabed
The Metals Co CEO, Gerrard Barron - 7/6 - cites his own company’s PR work:
“A brave, considered position by @TheEconomist. Refreshing to see an influential media outlet take a whole-planet view of this industry.”
The Guardian - 7/7 - The biggest gold rush in history is about to start in the deep sea – leaving devastation in its wake
Analyst Coverage - 7/10 - ThinkEquity rates “Buy” with $6 price target
Bloomberg - 7/11 - A Showdown in Jamaica Is Deciding the Fate of the Deep Ocean
7/10 - ABC News - UN debates deep sea mining as countries and companies now allowed to seek provisional licenses
The Economist - 7/12 - Could mining the seabed help in the transition to green energy?
Kitco Mining Video - 7/12 - Can ocean floor mining scale? The Metals Company's Gerard Barron on Pacific Ocean trials
Semafor - 7/12: The deep-sea gold rush is beginning
The Metals Co Twitter - 7/14 - Cites the economist
The Economist has gone deeper than other media, separating signal from noise to take an evidence-based position in favor of collecting nodules for the energy transition. Please have a listen, it’s well worth the 42 minutes
CBC - 7/14 - The oceans are rich in critical minerals. But will miners be allowed to get them?
NY Times - 7/15 - Why Deep-Sea Mining Is the Next Battleground in the Energy Transition
Company Press Release - 7/3 - Biodiversity Data from NORI-D Exploration Area Now Available on UNESCO’s Ocean Biodiversity Information System, Increases Biodiversity Records for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone by About 150%
