The application, submitted through the Company’s U.S. subsidiary, American Ocean Minerals Corp. (“American Ocean Minerals”), seeks an exploration license for polymetallic nodules in a defined area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean. The submission includes technical, environmental, and operational information required under NOAA’s regulations, including baseline environmental data, proposed monitoring, and mitigation measures, and a description of planned exploration activities with associated expenditures.