Key points
- Nautilus Minerals Inc. (85 per cent) and Eda Kopa (Solwara) Ltd. (15 per cent) form the Solwara 1 joint venture that received the three seafloor production tools (SPTs) from Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd.
- The SPTs are en route from Newcastle upon Tyne to Duqm Port in Oman for extensive wet testing.
- The tools are intended to cut and extract high-grade copper and gold from the seafloor at the Solwara 1 project in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea, with production operations planned to start in the first quarter of 2018.
- SMD’s parent company is China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. Ltd., and the tools were designed and built at SMD’s Newcastle upon Tyne facility.
The Solwara 1 joint venture (comprising Nautilus Minerals Inc. (85 per cent) and Eda Kopa (Solwara) Ltd. (15 per cent)) has taken delivery of the three seafloor production tools from Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd.’s facility in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The three SPTs are now en route to Oman, where they are scheduled to undergo extensive wet testing at Duqm Port. The company plans to use the SPTs to cut and extract high-grade copper and gold from the seafloor at the Solwara 1 joint venture’s project site in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea, with seafloor production operations planned to commence in the first quarter of 2018.
Nautilus’s chief executive officer, Mike Johnston, said: “The Solwara 1 joint venture partners are delighted to have achieved this major milestone and we are looking forward to undertaking the extensive wet testing program that we have planned. Whilst the SPTs are the product of extensive collaboration with a wide range of industry leading groups, I would like to make special mention of SMD. SMD’s world-leading expertise in the design, operation and maintenance of deepwater robotics, cutting and trenching equipment has been instrumental in the development of the SPTs. We look forward to continuing our relationship with SMD during the wet testing program and into the production phase of the Solwara 1 project.”
Andrew Hodgson, SMD’s chief executive officer, said: “It has been an exciting time for us to have designed, built and now delivered these industry-leading tools to Nautilus and its partner. SMD, together with our parent company China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. Ltd., are leading the way in the construction of remote mining and deep-sea excavation technology. We look forward to working with Nautilus on the continued development of these and subsequent tools.”
