“Earlier in my career, I have had the privilege of working in Norway, which is a leading example of how industry, trade, and the public and private sectors collaborate. And you have a fantastic resource base,” boasted Graham Talbot, CEO of WetStone.
He gave a lecture at the major shipping conference Nor-Shipping in Lillestrøm in June this year, where a half-day event was dedicated to deep-sea minerals.
WetStone is an American company that wants to develop robust value chains for seabed minerals. They invest in and collaborate with operators across jurisdictions, and develop the necessary infrastructure and technology to mature the industry. The New York and London-based company is already involved in more than ten countries, and Graham did not hide that Norway is an attractive investment destination.
WetStone focuses exclusively on the seabed minerals sector. The director explained that a growing global demand for critical minerals, such as nickel and cobalt, is driving the need. He expressed doubts about whether land-based mines can cover this in a sustainable way, as ore quality declines, and new projects become more expensive and time-consuming to develop.
Low-hanging fruit has been picked
Graham drew parallels to his background in the oil and gas industry: Once the simple resources are extracted, you are left with the more demanding ones. And he believes that is also the situation for the mining industry today.
WetStone focuses exclusively on national jurisdictions (exclusive economic zones), and steers clear of international waters, where other players are investing. The reason is, among other things, uncertainty related to when the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will be able to finalise regulations for mineral extraction in such areas.
Regarding technology, Graham pointed out that the industry can benefit from experiences from sectors such as oil and gas and defence. Exploration has so far been expensive, unreliable and difficult to scale, but WetStone is working to develop a scalable, global exploration platform to meet these challenges.
The director repeatedly boasted of Norway’s strong position in the global race for seabed minerals and shared the US perspective: “It is clearly possible to invest and develop partnerships here, and look at opportunities for how we can get involved in developing the sector.”
He pointed to clear opportunities for the Norwegian seabed community to attract US capital, both through direct investments and so-called offtake agreements, where future deliveries of metals can secure financing, potentially via US state or semi-state institutions.
In light of Graham’s glowing review of Norway’s potential for developing marine mineral resources, and WetStone’s active search for partnerships, it will hardly come as a surprise to hear about an agreement between the US and Norway at some point soon.
