Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., a pioneer in the field of deep-ocean exploration, reported that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for proposed dredging and recovery of phosphate sands from the “Don Diego” deposit has been filed with the Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). According to governmental regulations, a response is expected in approximately 60 business days.
Experts in marine dredging, plume modeling, sound propagation, ecotoxicology, phosphate research and engineering all contributed to the extensive environmental studies and scientific findings that were incorporated in the EIA.
The unique attributes of the “Don Diego” deposit, particularly its size, quality and location, make it an important strategic resource and place it among the top-tier of new world phosphate deposits. As recently announced, the Mexican government awarded two additional concession areas that increase the size and value of the “Don Diego” project.
Phosphate is a key and irreplaceable component of fertilizer. Mexico imported 83% of the fertilizer it used in 2013 and still only six million hectares of the 23 million hectares available for food crops are currently fertilized regularly in Mexico. Nearly 40% of the food consumed in the country is imported.
A stated key focus for Mexico’s President Nieto is his national crusade against hunger (SinHambre), and central to this initiative is for Mexico to identify and secure lower cost sources of fertilizer. This new source of phosphate can be crucial to increased food production in the country and could turn Mexico into a phosphate exporter.
Given the project’s importance to Mexico and all of North America, significant time and effort was invested in review of the EIA by additional scientific experts, environmental groups, local fishing groups, community leaders and potential strategic partners prior to submission to SEMARNAT. The 4,600 page EIA includes annexes that present extensive analyses, tests, reports and models from outside experts and environmental scientists on the proposed program to extract the phosphate sands.
“The ‘Don Diego’ project team has produced an extraordinary amount of high-quality work leading to this very thorough environmental assessment,” said Mark Gordon, Odyssey’s president and chief operating officer. “Offshore operations began with environmental and resource sampling and data collection conducted by Odyssey, which then continued with independent land-based laboratory testing and scientific analyses. This work has confirmed that the ‘Don Diego’ phosphate deposit is a strategically and economically significant resource, and its development will have minimal environmental impact while creating an overwhelmingly positive social and economic benefit for Mexico.”
“The extensive pre-submission review by various stakeholders has extended the development timeline,” continued Gordon . “However, the investment of additional time and resources better positions the project for success, and we are looking forward to moving another step closer to beginning mineral extraction operations.”
While the “Don Diego” concession area stretches to the shoreline, the proposed dredging area covers a significantly smaller region in waters 70-90 meters deep and centered about 40 kilometers offshore. The high phosphate band is located in the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), but outside of territorial waters, and the proposed dredging plan covers less than 1% of the current concession area per year. The proposed project area is a distinct deposit that features very high phosphate content.
The submitted EIA includes the following information:
Dr. Richard Newell, a leading environmental consultant, was involved in the provision of independent scientific advice for this project. He possesses extensive experience with studies on the environmental impact and management of dredging by Trailer Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) for the marine aggregates sector in the UK. Between 2002 and 2011, he was the marine science coordinator for a $50 million research program funded through the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) known as the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF).
According to Newell , “The knowledge we derived from the results of work funded through the ALSF has been brought to bear on the ‘Don Diego’ TSHD project, and leading independent expertise from the UK dredging industry has played a central role in the assessment of potential impacts. I am satisfied that this work and the interpretation of the data meets the high international standards that are expected for a project of this significance.”
Phosphate is a key and irreplaceable component of fertilizers, and the location of the “Don Diego” deposit makes it an attractive potential sourcing site for fertilizer companies in the Americas, Pacific Rim and Asia. The relatively shallow depth of the deposit and minimal-to-no overburden will allow the use of existing standard dredging ships and equipment.
As previously reported, the most recent NI 43-101 compliant “Technical Report: Revised Assessment” concludes that the measured and indicated phosphorite resources at the “Don Diego” deposit total 327.2 million ore tonnes at 18.5% P 2 O 5 , which represents an increase of 20% over the previous preliminary assessment total of 273.5 million ore tonnes. The latest assessment also adds 166.4 million inferred ore tonnes at 18.9% P 2 O 5 to the measured and indicated resource assessment. Further increases in the measured and indicated quantity of the deposit are expected when results from the two additional exclusive mining concession areas are calculated.
Press Release, September 09, 2014