TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 21, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX), a pioneer in the field of deep-ocean exploration has to-date monetized over 900,000 troy ounces of the silver recovered from the Gairsoppa shipwreck in July 2013 at an average price per ounce of $23.56 for a gross total of $21.5 million. In addition, fixed price swap contracts on 500,000 ounces for October and November at an average of $23.75 per ounce brought the average price on the 1.4 million ounces sold or hedged to $23.58 per ounce. At current market prices, the company estimates that the monetization and hedging program will generate total gross proceeds of approximately $39 million from the 2013 recovery, in addition to approximately $41 million generated in the prior year from the 2012 recovery.
The price of silver when the Gairsoppa silver was landed in the UK was $19.53 per ounce. Through the implementation of hedging and marketing strategies, Odyssey has been able to derive an average sales price considerably higher than the market spot rate. On silver sold or hedged to date, an incremental $5.3 million is expected to be generated over the value of the silver on the date the silver was landed.
"Our silver processing plan, hedging strategy and sales plan have been successful in creating additional value and cash inflows for the company," commented Philip Devine, Odyssey CFO. "We began to monetize the silver as of mid-September, have sold $21.5 million to date, and expect to complete the monetization process before the end of the year. We expect these cash inflows, which will appear in our Q3 and Q4 financial statements, combined with the monetization of our seabed mineral deposits and other income to place Odyssey in its best-ever best cash position and allow us to pursue a number of major projects in our pipeline."
Odyssey is continuing to pursue additional 20th century commodity shipwreck projects and last week took delivery of a customized 6000 meter Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), tooling and handling system. The ROV system and tools are scheduled to be tested in the next few weeks. Following a successful system test, preliminary work, including reconnaissance to determine the state of the shipwreck and assess necessary equipment for a recovery expedition, is planned to begin on one of Odyssey's new deep-ocean commodity projects.
Odyssey has negotiated salvage contracts that grant the company 90% of the net recovered cargo for four 20th century deep-ocean shipwrecks carrying valuable commodities when they sank. The company is continuing to add additional commodity shipwreck projects to the program.
"Our current commodity target list represents over $800 million in total potential recovery value," noted Mark Gordon, Odyssey president and COO. "We are continually developing projects from this list in order to have a solid backlog of opportunities ready for operations. The addition of the 6000 meter ROV to our suite of tools gives us additional cost-effective search and inspection options for our deep-ocean 20th century commodity projects. With our recent success in recovering more than 99% of the insured silver from the Gairsoppa, we are excited to expand this element of our business. We anticipate realizing significant regular cash generation from our commodity cargo recoveries for many years to come."
About Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) is engaged in deep-ocean exploration using innovative methods and state of-the-art technology for shipwreck projects and mineral exploration. For additional details, please visit www.odysseymarine.com. The company also maintains a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/OdysseyMarine and a Twitter feed @OdysseyMarine.
Forward Looking Information
Odyssey 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, 2012, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.