Nautilus is awarding three major contracts -- the first a $66m deal with SMD Hydrovision -- with its eye on starting subsea mining operations in 2010.
approval." Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is positioned to become an emerging producer in 2010. The Company's main focus for 2008 is the Solwara 1 Project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean. Nautilus is listed on the TSX and on AIM, and has among its largest shareholders three of the world's largest international resource companies, including Epion (22.9%), Anglo American (5.8%) and Teck Cominco (5.3%). The system will be designed and manufactured at SMD's Turbinia Works on the banks of the Tyne in North East England. It will then be integrated into the vessel in South East Asia in late 2009 and initial mining operations at Nautilus's Solwara 1 field will commence in 2010. On the SMD winning bid, which was awarded in midDecember, Nautilus executives noted during a conference
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call that "they (SMD) showed a competitive approach to contracting, which is refreshing in the current market." Two machines are being built for redundancy, so that one is below water working while the other is above for repair and preparation. The machines are massive, weighing 200 tons in the air, measuring 14 m wide x 10 m high, with a cutting arm nearly eight meters long. In addition, the machines will have the ability to "walk" on the seafloor, helping it to more easily acquire the correct cutting place and force. The contract for the machines was just the first of three critical contracts to be awarded to stay on-line for mining operations to begin in 2010, according to Heydon. The second contract, for the rising and lifting systems to transport the material and slurry above the water, is expected to be awarded at the end of January 2008, while the awarding of the Mining Service contract is expected sometime in April 2008.
Marine Technology Reporter 43
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