Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMEX), a deep-ocean
exploration pioneer engaged in the discovery, validation and
development of subsea minerals deposits in an environmentally
responsible manner, reported results for the full year
ended December 31, 2020, and provided an update on current
projects and future plans.
“While 2020 was challenging for companies around
the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Odyssey team was able
to achieve, and in some cases surpass, the aggressive goals we set
for ourselves,” reported Mark D. Gordon, Odyssey Chairman and CEO.
“Odyssey’s business is focused on building a portfolio of subsea
mineral assets that hold the potential to produce meaningful
societal and economic impacts for host countries and tremendous
asymmetric returns for investors.
“A key objective in 2020 was identifying and
securing capital to fund the needs of the company and our
subsidiaries through 2021 and into 2022. An $11M registered direct
offering in August of 2020 provided operating capital to execute
Odyssey’s strategic plans in 2021 and beyond and allowed Odyssey to
further invest and increase our ownership interest in the
subsidiary controlling the ExO deposit,” continued Gordon.
“Another key objective for 2020 was continuing
to progress the NAFTA action to recover the value of our ExO
Phosphate Project in Mexico. In September, we filed a strong and
compelling First Memorial in the NAFTA case, which is available at
https://www.odysseymarine.com/nafta. It was the culmination of many
months of work by our legal team at Cooley, supported by our
internal project development and research teams, to gather
documentary evidence and 20 expert reports and witness statements
that demonstrate the merits of the case, the strategic size and
grade of the resource, the operational viability of the project,
and the project’s value. We are extremely confident in our case
and, with the additional litigation funding commitment from, Poplar
Grove LLC, we are prepared to take the case through to its final
conclusion to realize the significant value of this asset.
“Our accomplishments in 2020 have set the
foundation for achievement of our 2021 strategic goals, which
include further increasing the value of our expanding mineral
portfolio. This encompasses not only moving current projects up the
value curve including our Lihir Subsea Gold and CIC projects, but
also adding new mineral projects to our portfolio.
“We recently restructured our executive team and
work streams to align with our strategic goals. In order to allow
John Longley, our President and COO to focus on growing and
increasing the value of our mineral portfolio, we’ve asked
long-time Odyssey employee and Director, Laura Barton, to take on
the role of Chief Business Officer to lead strategic and business
operations initiatives that support the project development
goals.
“In addition, earlier this month, the Odyssey
Board reinstated the seventh seat on the Board of Directors and
appointed Todd Siegel to fill the seat. We’re looking forward to
benefitting from Todd’s significant experience leading public
companies in CEO and Director roles as we take our business to the
next level of growth,” concluded Gordon.
Increasing Portfolio
ValueOdyssey increases the value of its mineral portfolio
in multiple ways: adding new projects through development or
acquisition, gaining or increasing equity ownership in mineral
projects through investment or a leveraged contracting model, and
by de-risking projects through exploration and assessment and
moving them up the value curve toward full operating
production.
During 2020 Odyssey worked on further developing
the value of two highly prospective subsea mineral projects, CIC
and Lihir Subsea Gold. The company is also actively developing new
projects through its proprietary Global Prospectivity Program, with
the goal of identifying new, highly valuable, and societally
significant subsea resources.
In 2021, we expect to receive regulatory
outcomes providing permits enabling us to carry out planned
exploration programs that could significantly enhance the value of
one or more of our portfolio projects.
CIC: Odyssey is a member of the
CIC Consortium, which is seeking a mineral exploration license in
an island nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The CIC Consortium was
founded and is led by Odyssey co-founder and former CEO, Greg
Stemm, and includes Royal Boskalis Westminster NV and Odyssey
Marine Exploration.
Through a wholly owned subsidiary, Odyssey
Marine Minerals, Odyssey has already earned 16 million shares
(representing more than 12% of current outstanding shares of this
project) through the provision of services related to resource
assessment, project planning, research and project management, and
Odyssey has an option to acquire an additional four million
shares.
Lihir Subsea Gold: The
project’s license area is adjacent to Lihir Island in Papua New
Guinea where one of the world’s largest known terrestrial gold
deposits is currently being mined and processed by Newcrest Mining.
The license area includes at least five prospective exploration
targets in two different mineralization types: seamount-related
epithermal and modern placer gold. Odyssey owns approximately 80%
of Bismarck Mining Corporation, Ltd, the Papua New Guinea company
that holds the exploration license.
While the COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans for
additional offshore exploration work in 2020, presentations to the
public were made in December 2020 in compliance with and in support
of the regulatory process in PNG. Upon renewal of the exploration
license, we intend to conduct offshore operations work in 2021. “We
are extremely excited to complete the exploration program to verify
and quantify the mineralization of this potentially valuable
resource and to fully understand the environmental setting in which
it lies. We were on the cusp of executing this program in 2020 when
the pandemic hit, making marine operations impossible to execute.
The renewal will allow us to execute the same exploration program
that was approved in the last license period,” said John Longley,
President & COO of Odyssey.
2020 Financial
ResultsConsolidated financial statements as well as
Odyssey's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period
ended December 31, 2020, are available on the company's
website at www.odysseymarine.com as well as
at www.sec.gov.
About Odyssey Marine
ExplorationOdyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX)
is engaged in ocean exploration using innovative methods and
state-of-the-art technology to provide access to critical resources
worldwide. Our core focus is the discovery, validation and
development of subsea mineral resources. Odyssey also provides
marine services for private clients and governments. For additional
details, please visit www.odysseymarine.com.
Forward Looking
InformationOdyssey Marine Exploration believes the
information set forth in this Press Release may include "forward
looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. Certain factors
that could cause results to differ materially from those projected
in the forward-looking statements are set forth in "Risk Factors"
in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2020, which was filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2021. The financial
and operating projections as well as estimates of mining assets are
based solely on the assumptions developed by Odyssey that it
believes are reasonable based upon information available to Odyssey
as of the date of this release. All projections and estimates are
subject to material uncertainties and should not be viewed as a
prediction or an assurance of actual future performance. The
validity and accuracy of Odyssey's projections will depend upon
unpredictable future events, many of which are beyond Odyssey's
control and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that Odyssey's
assumptions will prove true or that its projected results will be
achieved.
Cautionary Note to U.S.
InvestorsThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to
disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can
economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms
in this press release, such as "measured", "indicated," "inferred"
and "resources," which the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from
including in our filings with the SEC. "Inferred mineral resources"
have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great
uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot
be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource
will ever be upgraded to a higher category. U.S. investors are
cautioned not to assume that part or all of the inferred mineral
resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable, and are
urged to consider closely the disclosures in our Form 10-K which
may be secured from us or from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
CONTACT: Laura Barton Odyssey Marine
Exploration, Inc.(813) 876-1776 x 2562laura@odysseymarine.com
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