Odyssey Marine Exploration Announces Partnership with Ocean Minerals LLC for a New Cook Islands Exploration Project

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMEX), a global subsea mineral exploration, validation, and development company, announced today an important next step in becoming the world’s leading marine mineral development company.

On June 4, 2023, Odyssey entered into a purchase agreement to acquire a 13% interest in Ocean Minerals LLC (OML) in exchange for a contribution by Odyssey of its interest in a 6,000-meter remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and cash contributions of up to $10 million in a series of transactions over the next year. The purchase agreement allows Odyssey to acquire a total of up to 40% of OML over the next 18 months at Odyssey’s discretion.

Moana Minerals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of OML, holds a five-year exploration license from the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) granted in 2022 to explore polymetallic nodules within the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Polymetallic nodules contain metals critical to the growing renewable energy market, including cobalt, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements (REE).

The 23,630 square kilometers area covered by Moana Mineral’s license contains a stated mineral resource of over 500 million tonnes of nodules (indicated and inferred) on a wet basis at a 5 kg/m² nodule abundance cutoff. The nodules are enriched in several metals, including a cobalt grade of approximately 0.5%. OML is actively conducting additional mineral exploration and environmental data collection to assess the environment and increase resource confidence.

Odyssey joins Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) as an equity holder in OML. Transocean announced its purchase of a minority interest in OML last year and is working on the technology and services required to harvest polymetallic nodules from the seabed. The 6,000-meter rated ROV contributed to OML by Odyssey will provide OML with an additional tool to advance the project toward eventual applications for an environmental permit and harvesting license when exploration and feasibility studies are completed and demonstrate how harvesting can be done without serious harm to the environment. Over the next year, OML expects to advance its current JORC-compliant report substantially increasing resources reported at indicated and measured levels of confidence and to obtain its preliminary Feasibility Study, among other important project milestones.