TMC The Metals Company (TMC) could begin commercial production of polymetallic nodules within 12 to 18 months, secure additional offtake agreements and potentially beat its prior 2027 target following the US regulator's compliance decision, Wedbush Securities said Tuesday.

The brokerage said the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, found the company's application met key deep-sea mining requirements, removing a major regulatory hurdle. The focus now shifts to obtaining the commercial recovery permit, which could be accelerated using earlier environmental, geological, and engineering data.

The updated application now covers about 65,000 square kilometers in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, up from about 25,000 square kilometers before, and raises the estimated nodule resource to more than 800 million tonnes from 360 million tonnes, the investment firm said.

The investment firm noted that the larger resource base and faster than expected regulatory progress improve confidence in the company's path to commercial production and could support more offtake deals for lithium, nickel, copper and manganese.

Wedbush maintained its outperform rating on the stock with an $11 price target.

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