GE Oil & Gas has informed Nautilus Minerals that the factory acceptance testing (FAT) on the subsea slurry and lift pump (SSLP) for the Solwara 1 mining project has started.
The company is conducting the test on behalf of Solwara 1 Joint Venture (comprising Nautilus 85% and Eda Kopa (Solwara) Limited 15%) at its facility in Houston.
Mike Johnston , Nautilus’ CEO, said: “The SSLP is a key element of the Solwara 1 Joint Venture’s seafloor production system, enabling us to transfer the mineralized material as a slurry from the seafloor to the Production Support Vessel (“PSV”) with no interaction with the overlying water column. We look forward to successfully completing FAT on the SSLP and taking delivery of the pump later this year.”
As Nautilus Minerals explained, the SSLP and riser system transfer the mineralized material as slurry from the deep ocean up onto the PSV, where the mineralized solids are removed. The return water is then filtered to 8 microns, and transferred back down to the pump via the auxiliary riser pipes where it is released back into the same environment from which it originally came.