The Metals Company to apply for deep sea exploration license under US legislation

March 27 (Reuters) - Canadian miner The Metals Company said on Thursday it had formally initiated a process under the U.S. Department of Commerce to apply for exploration licenses and permits to extract minerals from the ocean floor.

The company plans to apply under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980 (DSHMRA) instead of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), stating the latter had not yet adopted regulations around deep seabed exploitation.

It also added that it has requested a pre-application consultation with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

TMC's bid to become the first company to gain approval to develop deep sea minerals has been controversial. Environmental groups are calling for all activities to be banned, warning that industrial operations on the ocean floor could cause irreversible biodiversity loss.

This move comes at a time when delegations from 36 countries are attending a council meeting of the U.N.'s ISA in Kingston, Jamaica this week to decide if mining companies should be allowed to extract metals such as copper or cobalt from the ocean floor.

Few expect a final text for the mining code to be completed by the end of the latest round of talks on March 28, with delegates also planning to discuss potential actions if a mining application is submitted before the regulations are completed.

"We believe we have sufficient knowledge to get started and prove we can manage environmental risks. What we need is a regulator with a robust regulatory regime, and who is willing to give our application a fair hearing," said Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)