TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 23, 2015) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(OTCQX:NUSMF) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces that the commissioning and Factory Acceptance Testing of its third and final Seafloor Production Tool ("SPT"), the Auxiliary Cutter, has commenced at Soil Machine Dynamics' facility at Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Nautilus' CEO, Mike Johnston said "We are very excited that the commissioning of the final of the three SPTs has begun. With the Bulk Cutter and the Collecting Machine having already begun Factory Acceptance Testing and now with the Auxiliary Cutter underway, we are on track to complete this testing phase and take delivery of the three SPTs in Q4 2015."
The Auxiliary Cutter will weigh in at 250 tonnes when fully assembled. It is a preparatory machine that deals with rough terrain and creates benches for the other SPTs to work. It will operate on tracks with spud assistance and has a boom mounted cutting head for flexibility.
How they will work:
The excavation and collection of mineralised material has been split into three individual tasks, which will each be carried out by a different SPT. The Auxiliary Cutter is designed as the pioneering tool which prepares the rugged sea bed for the more powerful Bulk Cutter. These two tools gather the excavated material; the third, the Collecting Machine, will collect the cut material by drawing it in as seawater slurry with internal pumps and pushing it through a flexible pipe to the subsea pump and on to the vessel via the Riser and Lifting System.
Links:
An animation of the seafloor production system and a video showing the assembly of the Bulk Cutter can be viewed on the Company's website:
www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Investors-MediaCoverage.asp.
Assembly of Bulk Cutter completed:
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=647179.
Assembly of Collecting Machine completed:
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=693082For more information please refer to
www.nautilusminerals.com.
Neither the TSX nor the OTCQX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Certain of the statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the completion of Factory Acceptance Testing and the delivery of the SPTs. We have made numerous assumptions about such statements. Even though our management believes the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information by its nature involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Please refer to our most recently filed Annual Information Form in respect of material assumptions and risks related to the prospects of extracting minerals from the seafloor. With respect to the completion of Factory Acceptance Testing and the delivery of the SPTs, the Company is assuming that the Factory Acceptance Testing will be completed according to the schedule. Risks related to such arrangement include the delay to the completion of the Factory Acceptance Testing may delay the final delivery of the SPTs. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking statements and information as conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada.
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 approximately 450,000 km2 of highly prospective exploration acreage in the western Pacific; in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga, as well as in international waters in the eastern Pacific.
A Canadian registered company, Nautilus is listed on the TSX:NUS stock exchange and trades on the OTCQX:NUSMF. Its corporate office is in Brisbane, Australia. Its major shareholders include MB Holding Company LLC, an Oman based group with interests in mining, oil & gas, which holds a 28.14% interest, Metalloinvest, the largest iron ore producer in Europe and the CIS, which has a 20.89% holding and global mining group Anglo American, which holds a 5.99% interest (each on a non-diluted basis, excluding loan shares outstanding under the Company's share loan plan).