[2] The company focuses on the mining of polymetallic (nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese) nodules[3][4] in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific.

Baird Maritime noted that The Metals Company had no revenue or production as of April 2021, and highlighted the company's risky commercialization efforts: "Nobody has successfully managed to commercially harvest the nickel, copper, manganese, and cobalt from the nodules in 4,500 metres of water since interest was first stimulated in seabed mining in the 1970s.

[4][7] The Wall Street Journal noted that CEO Gerard Barron previously backed another deep sea mining company, Nautilus Minerals, that "lost a half-billion dollars of investor money, got crosswise with a South Pacific government, destroyed sensitive seabed habitat and ultimately went broke".

[8][9] In response to DeepGreen's efforts in Nauru, over 400 scientists signed a statement in opposition, alleging that it would result in the “loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning that would be irreversible on multi-generational timescales.”[8][10] DeepGreen published an open letter defending its practices after four BMW, Volvo, Google, and Samsung SDI supported a World Wildlife Fund call for a moratorium.

[12] The speed of life and development on the ocean floor is very slow, disturbances, even minor, may have long-lasting effects.