Odyssey Marine Exploration Reports Full Year 2023 and First Quarter 2024 Results and Provides Company Update - Seite 2

Company Updates

Odyssey grows its portfolio by focusing on polymetallic nodule projects, which could provide the metals necessary to transition to renewable energy sources, thereby reducing carbon, emissions and by developing phosphate deposits, a vital component of fertilizer essential for addressing the food security requirements of a growing global population. Leveraging its distinctive Global Prospectivity Process, the company identifies projects that align geologically and geopolitically, strategically advancing them along its value curve model.

ExO Phosphate Project - NAFTA Case

Odyssey initiated a claim under Chapter XI of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2019, alleging that Mexico wrongfully denied its environmental approval of the ExO Phosphate Project in breach of NAFTA. The company is seeking damages of over $2 billion.

On March 8, 2024, Odyssey received a letter from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) relating to the claim of Odyssey and Exploraciones Oceánicas S. de R.L. de C.V. (a subsidiary of Odyssey) against the United Mexican States under Chapter Eleven of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The letter advised the Claimant that the Tribunal “has continued to make progress in finalizing its determinations” and that it “expects to render the Award in the second quarter of this year.”

Odyssey cannot predict the outcome of the arbitration, but the company remains confident in the merits of its case.

Responsible Use of Seafloor Resources Act (RUSRA)

Odyssey and several industry peers endorsed the Responsible Use of Seafloor Resources Act (RUSRA) in March 2024. This act underscores the United States' commitment to supporting international governance of seafloor resource exploration and fostering responsible collection efforts.

Cook Islands Polymetallic Nodule Exploration Milestones

The Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) granted three exploration licenses in 2022. Odyssey is invested in and provides services to two license holders that have undertaken exploration efforts and achieved several milestones while advancing understanding of the resources in their respective areas.

Ocean Minerals LLC (OML), one of the companies in which Odyssey has invested, completed multiple expeditions during the last year, resulting in a comprehensive mapping survey of the entire license area as well as collecting environmental, sediment, and resource samples. These samples, supported by the extensive ROV-captured video recordings, have been analyzed by independent laboratories and scientists, with results being reported to the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority with an updated resource report being imminent. Using a benthic sled, a five-tonne bulk nodule sample to enable our ongoing metallurgical process development was recovered. This work accrues to expanding the amount of measured and indicated resources reported in their initial JORC resource report.