Nautilus Seafloor Production Tools Arrive in Oman

Nautilus Minerals Inc. announced, on behalf of the Solwara 1 Joint Venture (comprising Nautilus 85 percent and Eda Kopa (Solwara) Limited 15 percent, a subsidiary of Petromin Holdings PNG), that the three Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs) have arrived safely at Duqm Port in Oman.

The three SPTs are scheduled to undergo extensive wet testing at Duqm Port. The testing is one of the next major steps in the progession towards seafloor production, and will involve submerged testing of:

• Control systems operations and feedback
• Hydraulic functions
• Collection system functions
• Survey and visualization systems

The wet testing program is being undertaken by the Solwara 1 Joint Venture production team and representatives of Soil Machine Dynamics, with further logistics and engineering support from United Engineering Services Ltd, in Duqm Port, Oman. The preparatory works for the program will commence in April with initial testing operations scheduled to occur shortly thereafter.

The SPTs were designed and assembled in Newcastle upon Tyne by Soil Machine Dynamics, and the company ultimately 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. Initial seafloor production operations are planned to commence at the Solwara 1 project site in Q1 2018.