Download Nautilus Minerals press release
Toronto Ontario, October 12, 2017 – Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS, OTC:NUSMF Nasdaq Intl Designation) (the “Company” or “Nautilus“) is happy to provide an update on the status of its seafloor production system, to be used by Nautilus and its partner, Eda Kopa (Solwara) Limited at the Solwara 1 Project site, in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Mike Johnston, Nautilus’ CEO commented: “The Company is pleased by the progress that continues to be made with the construction, trialing and delivery of the seafloor production system as detailed in the notes below. The system remains on track for initial production during the first half of 2019, subject to further financing as indicated previously.”
Status
Submerged trials of the first of the Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs), the Collecting Machine (CM) have now been completed at the trial facility in Motukea Island, Port Moresby, PNG. The results of the CM trials indicate that the machine can perform to design specifications, and the team is now looking at operating enhancements. The Auxiliary Cutter is currently being trialed and this will be followed by the Bulk Cutter. We look forward to reporting on
these trials later this year.
At the Mawei shipyard, the vessel construction is currently at ~70%. The assembly of all three SPT Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) is progressing well at the shipyard under the supervision of the supplier AXTech. The 200T and 100T ship’s cranes have been
delivered to the shipyard by Macgregor and one of the crane pedestals has already been fitted on to the deck. The lift winches and spoolers for the SPT LARS have also been shipped from Korea too the shipyard.
The Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co. (Honghua) continues to make good progress with the fabrication of the derrick and associated substructure. This equipment, which is required for the deployment of the Subsea Slurry Lift Pump and riser, has now undergone trial assembly at Honghua’s fabrication facility in Chengdu. The derrick and substructure will be shipped to the Mawei shipyard later this month so that installation on the Production Support Vessel can start before the end of the year. Honghua have also commenced fabrication of the dewatering plant structural steel modules at their Qidong yard, following procurement of the required steel over the past two months.
Stakeholder engagement continues to progress well in PNG with a series of visits arranged for Provincial Government representatives and community leaders to witness the SPT trials taking place at Motukea Island. The Company continues to receive strong local support for the project as a result of its health, education and infrastructure improvement programs and regular awareness meetings in coastal communities.
Subject to further financing, Nautilus’ objective remains to develop the world’s first commercial high grade seafloor copper-gold mine and launch the seafloor resource production industry during the first half of 2019.
To view some video footage of the vessel and some recent pictures of the build please go to the links section below.
Links
- Vessel build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQFbHQfz6Pw&feature=youtu.be
- CM commencing trials: http://www.nautilusminerals.com//irm/showmedia.aspx?MediaId=64
- LARS equipment: http://www.nautilusminerals.com//irm/showmedia.aspx?MediaId=66
- Visits to PNG: http://www.nautilusminerals.com//irm/showmedia.aspx?MediaId=65
For more information please refer to www.nautilusminerals.com or contact:
Investor Relations
Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Toronto)
Email: investor@nautilusminerals.com
Tel: +1 416 551 1100
