Company Description
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMEX) is a U.S.-based ocean exploration and marine resource development company with more than 30 years of experience operating in complex offshore environments worldwide. According to the company’s public disclosures, Odyssey focuses on the discovery, validation, and advancement of seafloor critical mineral projects, with a diversified portfolio that includes subsea phosphate deposits for fertilizers and polymetallic nodules for battery metals. The company positions these projects as contributing to global priorities such as food security, energy transition, and supply-chain resilience.
Odyssey describes itself as an ocean exploration pioneer engaged in the discovery, development, and extraction of subsea strategic minerals that provide solutions to global challenges. Its activities center on critical minerals that support agriculture, clean energy technologies, and advanced manufacturing. The company’s work includes building a geologically and geographically diverse portfolio of projects spanning phosphate, polymetallic nodules, and other strategic deposits, giving investors exposure to multiple mineral systems, jurisdictions, and development pathways as outlined in its news releases.
Business Focus and Project Portfolio
Public statements by Odyssey emphasize a commitment to sustainable and responsible ocean mineral exploration. The company highlights its role in the discovery, validation, and advancement of seafloor mineral resources, rather than only focusing on extraction. Its portfolio includes:
- Subsea phosphate deposits intended for fertilizer production, which the company links to food security and agricultural productivity.
- Polymetallic nodules that contain battery metals, such as those associated with projects in the Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where Odyssey is involved through investments and services to licensed exploration programs.
- Other critical and strategic mineral deposits, including heavy mineral sands prospective for titanium, zirconium, rare earth elements (REEs), and phosphate in areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, based on the company’s lease-sale request described in its news releases.
Odyssey reports that it is building a diversified portfolio designed to address multi-year demand for critical minerals. The company states that this portfolio is intended to align with national and international priorities related to resource security, clean energy, and resilient supply chains.
Collaboration with Governments and Partners
In its public communications, Odyssey emphasizes that it works with governments and seafloor rights holders worldwide. The company notes collaborations with entities such as the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority and U.S. federal agencies through processes overseen by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Odyssey has also highlighted joint ventures and investments, including:
- PHOSAGMEX, a joint venture with Capital Latinoamericano (CapLat), focused on establishing a fertilizer supply chain to enhance North American food security and support sustainable agricultural practices, based on phosphate resources within Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
- Equity interests and service relationships with Cook Islands seabed minerals exploration license holders, including CIC Limited and Ocean Minerals LLC (OML), whose subsidiary Moana Minerals holds an exploration license in the Cook Islands’ EEZ.
- A collaboration agreement with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD), which Odyssey has identified as a potential dredging services provider if its proposed U.S. offshore mineral lease project advances.
Odyssey reports that it develops projects in collaboration with a global network of partners, academics, and industry professionals, and that these collaborations are intended to support environmentally sound approaches to obtaining minerals.
Technical Capabilities and Offshore Operations
According to multiple company news releases, Odyssey brings decades of subsea operational experience to its mineral projects. The company describes technical capabilities that include:
- Deployment of Autonomous Benthic Mini Landers (ABMLs) in deep water within the Cook Islands’ EEZ to collect in situ environmental and geophysical data at depths of several thousand meters.
- Use of sensor arrays to measure parameters such as turbidity, conductivity, oxygen, temperature, sound, and pressure on the seafloor, with data shared with local authorities to support scientific and environmental management programs.
- Experience in deep-ocean resource exploration and more than 15 years dedicated to marine mineral research and development, as referenced in its public statements.
For prospective U.S. offshore projects, Odyssey has described plans that, if leases are granted and projects advance beyond assessment, would involve shallow-water dredging techniques commonly used in marine construction and sediment management. The company links these methods to potential recovery of heavy mineral sands and associated sand and gravel that may support coastal resilience and shoreline restoration initiatives, as described in its lease-request news release.
Regulatory and Policy Context
Odyssey’s disclosures place its activities within a broader regulatory and policy framework. The company notes that it has been pre-qualified by BOEM to hold marine mineral leases and that it has submitted an unsolicited request for a lease sale in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. It references U.S. federal policy actions aimed at accelerating responsible exploration and development of offshore critical minerals and strengthening domestic supply chains.
For its proposed U.S. lease area offshore the Mid-Atlantic coast, Odyssey highlights that BOEM’s review process is conducted under federal laws such as the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. The company states that project work plans would be designed to align with BOEM’s review framework and to prioritize environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, and compatibility with existing ocean uses, including national defense activities.
Geographic Areas and Key Projects Mentioned in Disclosures
Based on the company’s public news releases, Odyssey’s project and partnership activities span several jurisdictions and offshore regions, including:
- The Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone, where Odyssey is involved through investments and services to exploration license holders focused on polymetallic nodules.
- Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone, where the PHOSAGMEX joint venture is associated with phosphate resources intended to support a domestic fertilizer supply.
- The U.S. Outer Continental Shelf off the Mid-Atlantic coast, where Odyssey has requested a marine mineral lease area believed to be prospective for heavy mineral sands containing titanium, zirconium, rare earth elements, and phosphate.
In these regions, Odyssey’s stated approach combines geological assessment, environmental data collection, and regulatory engagement with host governments and agencies.
Capital Structure and Exchange Listing
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is incorporated in Nevada and its common stock, with a par value of $0.0001 per share, trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol OMEX, as indicated in its SEC filings. The company has reported various unregistered sales of equity securities and conversions of convertible promissory notes into common stock, which have affected its outstanding share count over time. These transactions are described in multiple Form 8-K filings related to note conversions and equity issuances.
Corporate Reporting and Governance
Odyssey files periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 10-Q and 10-K, and uses Form 8-K to report material events such as financing transactions and other corporate developments. In a Form 12b-25 notification, the company reported that it required additional time to complete its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a specified period due to the time needed for its accounting records and auditor review, while indicating its intent to file within the allowed extension window.
The company has also disclosed outcomes of shareholder meetings, including votes on proposals related to authorized share counts and reverse stock splits. In one such disclosure, Odyssey noted that certain proposals did not receive the requisite approval under Nevada law, while stating that this outcome did not affect its ability to execute its strategy as described in its news release.
Stated Strategic Themes
Across its public communications, Odyssey highlights several recurring strategic themes:
- Critical minerals and resource security: Emphasis on minerals such as phosphate, titanium, zirconium, rare earth elements, and metals contained in polymetallic nodules, which the company associates with national security, agriculture, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.
- Food security and fertilizers: Focus on subsea phosphate deposits and projects like PHOSAGMEX intended to support sustainable agricultural practices and domestic fertilizer supply chains.
- Energy transition and battery metals: Reference to polymetallic nodules as sources of battery metals that support clean energy and technology applications.
- Environmental responsibility: Repeated statements about sustainable, responsible, and science-led approaches to ocean mineral exploration and development, including open data-sharing with authorities and alignment with regulatory frameworks.
According to its news releases, Odyssey views growing policy momentum and regulatory engagement as supportive of its long-term project pipeline in ocean mineral resources.