Nautilus Minerals recently welcomed the arrival in Oman of three seafloor production tools (SPTs) that will be used in a Solwara 1 Joint Venture project exploring copper and gold deposits in the Bismarck Sea near Papua New Guinea.
The tools arrived at Duqm Port, where they will be subjected to extensive wet testing by a team from United Engineering Services (UES) and Soil Machine Dynamics. The tests will consist of submerged testing of control systems operations and feedback, hydraulic functions, collection system functions and survey and visualization systems.
“The Solwara 1 Joint Venture partners are delighted that the SPTs have made it safely to Duqm Port,” Nautilus Minerals CEO Mike Johnston said. “We look forward to commencing our wet testing program with the support of UES and Soil Machine Dynamics, and I look forward to reporting the results to our shareholders and the market in general.”
Seafloor production operations are anticipated to begin in the Bismarck Sea in 2018.
