Key points
- The collecting machine is the second of three sea floor production tools (SPTs) and follows completion of the bulk cutter.
- The tool weighs 200 tonnes when fully assembled, making it the lightest of the three SPTs.
- It collects cut material as sea water slurry via internal pumps, pushing it through a flexible pipe to the riser and lifting system onto the vessel.
- CEO Mike Johnston said work has also started on the production support vessel, with assembly of the third SPT, the auxiliary cutter, still to be finalized.
The mechanical and hydraulic assembly of
Nautilus Minerals Inc.’s second of three sea floor production tools, the collecting machine, has been completed at Soil Machine Dynamics’ facility at Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, and the commissioning of the collecting machine systems has now commenced.
Nautilus’s chief executive officer, Mike Johnston, said: “Having already completed the assembly of the bulk cutter, we are delighted that the assembly of the collecting machine has now been completed and commissioning has begun. This is an exciting time for the company as we continue with the build of the sea floor production equipment while work has also started toward the build of our production support vessel. We look forward to finalizing the assembly of the third and final SPT, the auxiliary cutter.”
The collecting machine is the lightest of the three sea floor production tools, weighing 200 tonnes when fully assembled. It is designed to collect material cut from the sea floor by drawing it in as sea water slurry with internal pumps and pushing it through a flexible pipe to the riser and lifting system and onto the vessel.
How they will work
The excavation and collection of mineralized material have been split into three individual tasks, which will each be carried out by a different SPT. The auxiliary cutter is designed as the pioneering tool that prepares the rugged seabed for the more powerful bulk cutter. These two tools gather the excavated material; the third, the collecting machine, will collect the cut material by drawing it in as sea water slurry with internal pumps and pushing it through a flexible pipe to the subsea pump and on to the vessel through the riser and lifting system.
