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Odyssey Marine Exploration Reaches Major Milestone in $2B+ NAFTA Case
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMEX), a global subsea mineral exploration and development company, announces that on
About this update from Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nOdyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMEX), a global subsea mineral exploration and development company, announces that on Monday, September 12, 2022, the company filed its post-hearing brief in its NAFTA case against Mexico. The post-hearing brief represents the final substantive submission in the case and was prepared by Odyssey’s legal team comprised of specialist international arbitration lawyers from Cooley LLP and King & Spalding LLP. The NAFTA case, which began with the Notice of Arbitration filed in April 2019, relates to one of the largest phosphate deposits to be discovered in the Americas.\n\n“This is a major milestone in our NAFTA case. We’ve spent the last several years gathering and providing clear and compelling evidence to the NAFTA Tribunal, and we remain confident in our case, which is now in the hands of the Tribunal,” stated Mark Gordon, Odyssey’s Chief Executive Officer. “We have always believed that bringing this project into production is in Mexico’s and Odyssey’s best interests as doing so has the potential to significantly enhance Mexico’s food security and make it a world leader in environmentally responsible phosphate extraction. It is unfortunate, especially considering current world food prices, that we were forced to commence an arbitration claim for substantial compensation rather than work with Mexico to realize the many economic, social and environmental benefits of the project.”\n\nNAFTA Case Background\n\nIn 2012, Exploraciones Oceanicas S de R.L. de CV (ExO), a company in which Odyssey holds an approximately 56% interest, was granted a 50-year mining concession (extendable for another 50 years at ExO’s option) by Mexico. Odyssey conducted significant offshore exploration, sampling and environmental testing and in 2014 completed an NI 43-101 compliant technical report.\n\nWith the assistance of experts in marine dredging who have completed more than 200 projects in Mexican waters using the proposed technology and leading environmental scientists from around the world, Odyssey spent three years preparing an environmentally responsible development plan for the deposit, which lies 25-40 km offshore in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Odyssey believes the Mexican Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) rejected the environmental permit necessary...