Key points
- Nautilus Minerals completed the first trial of its newly developed autonomous sediment sampler, the Nautilus Jumping Spider.
- The device lands on the seafloor, triggers a suction system to collect sediment, releases a biodegradable ballast weight, and floats to the surface for recovery.
- The company plans to test the sampler on its land positions in Papua New Guinea and Tonga in late 2018, subject to financing.
- Nautilus holds the first mining lease for seafloor massive sulphide deposits at Solwara 1 in Papua New Guinea and has secured its environmental permit for the site.
Nautilus Minerals Inc. has successfully completed the first trial of its newly developed autonomous sediment sampler. The insect-inspired creation is dubbed the Nautilus Jumping Spider, and resembling its animal namesake, it sports a number of tubular legs. Upon landing on the seafloor, a mechanical trigger starts the suction system that delivers sediment up the tubular legs and into the sample housing. Following the release of a biodegradable sacrificial ballast weight, a deep-sea float lifts the sampler back to surface for later collection.
The spider-inspired samplers have been developed to allow the exploration team to significantly increase sediment collection efficiencies from the seafloor while decreasing costs, potentially by an order of magnitude. The company plans to test its extensive land positions in both Papua New Guinea and Tonga (which total an area larger than the land area of the United Kingdom), in the later part of 2018, subject to financing.
Mike Johnston, chief executive officer, commented: “The innovation of the exploration team in developing this simple yet very user-friendly sediment sampler must be commended. Over the years, Nautilus and its technology partners have developed a number of low-cost tools to assist with its exploration and development efforts (ROV (remotely operated vehicle) drills, self-potential and electromagnetic subsea geophysical systems, and various water column and seafloor geochemical sampling systems). Development of the new autonomous sampling tools continues to demonstrate the company’s commitment to industry leading innovation. Along with other exploration techniques, including seabed drilling, the team is looking to build a pipeline of projects and resources to feed our mobile mining system currently under construction.”
About the Nautilus Jumping Spider
Nautilus has previously demonstrated the effectiveness of low-cost grid sediment sampling in the highly sedimented East Manus basin (Papua New Guinea). The challenge was to extend this technique to rocky, low-sedimented areas, with a further reduction in cost to allow for even more extensive sampling programs. This now appears possible with the development of the Nautilus Jumping Spider.
This first-generation autonomous sampler has been exclusively developed by Nautilus. It is both light in weight and low in cost for design. The sampler is designed to land on rough terrains with a high degree of sampling efficiency.
The system was designed and largely built in-house. Other notable design features include a radio transponder ported into the float to aid locating and surface recovery, a galvanic fail-safe release, use of industry standard (certified) sample sieves, self-priming design of the suction and sample system, and use of biodegradable sacrificial ballast weights.
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor massive sulphide deposits. Nautilus was granted the first mining lease for such deposits at the prospect known as Solwara 1, in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, where it is aiming to produce copper, gold and silver. The company has also been granted its environmental permit for this site.
