Key points
- The bulk cutter has completed power and control system commissioning, on-shore functions testing, submerged function testing and submerged endurance trials, with cutting performance trials remaining.
- Submerged trials of the collecting machine and auxiliary cutter were completed late last year.
- Approximately 770 tonnes of material were cut during trials, with the site team saying it appears at least three times harder than mineralized material at Solwara 1.
- CEO Mike Johnston credited contractors SMD, KDI and Curtain Brothers (Papua New Guinea) and said results to date significantly derisk the project.
Nautilus Minerals Inc. has provided an update on submerged trials for the company’s seafloor production tools, with the final machine, the bulk cutter, due to finish trials next month.
Submerged trials of the collecting machine and auxiliary cutter were completed late last year.
To date the bulk cutter has completed commissioning of the power and control system, on-shore functions testing, submerged function testing, and submerged endurance trials. Remaining trials will focus on overall cutting performance, a key criteria for this machine.
Continuing analysis of the results to date indicates that the seafloor production tools can perform to design specifications with the machine components all functioning as designed in submerged conditions. The cutting performance of the auxiliary cutter has been particularly positive. Approximately 770 tonnes of material was cut during trials, with the Nautilus site team commenting that the material appears at least three times harder than the mineralized material at Solwara 1 (even allowing for the hyperbaric effect on material located at seafloor depths of the Solwara 1 project which are far greater than the depths at which the trials were conducted). The company will provide a comprehensive analysis once all test work and data analysis are complete.
Mike Johnston, Nautilus’s chief executive officer, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the progress that continues to be made on the trialing of the seafloor production tools. The results of the trials to date indicate that the machines have been meeting and/or exceeding their key design specifications. These results have been achieved through the dedicated work of our staff, key contractors (SMD and KDI) and support staff (Curtain Brothers, Papua New Guinea), and within a tight budget. The performance of these machines is critical to our seafloor production system, and the results to date significantly derisk the project. We look forward to providing future updates once the bulk cutter trialling is completed.”
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.
Nautilus also holds highly prospective exploration acreage in the Western Pacific (granted and under application), as well as in international waters in the Central Pacific.
