Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

The traditional project stages that we use in terrestrial mining are:
Reconnaissance exploration
Target definition
Resource definition
Pre-feasibility study
Feasibility study
Decision to mine
Construct and commission
Operate and sell metals
Through centuries of experience, on land, we know exactly what to do.
In the marine environment where things are being done for the first time, it is
difficult to project for example how much ship time will be required to
explore 5000 km 2 of the Bismarck Sea to a satisfactory reconnaissance level.
The other difficult area is to define the reward to the investor. What
business is the investing party becoming part of? An engineering firm may
want to invest solely in the technologies and intellectual property assets while
a major mining house will want to invest only in the mineral deposits and the
concentrate streams that will flow from them. A regional bank might only
want to invest in Papua New Guinea.
This is why I refer to Nautilus as ‘a group’. It is an international group
of companies that holds rights to different regions and different elements.
I mentioned some of the different types of investors above. Each of
these will require a different structure. An individual speculator will want to
be able to trade in and out of your company and would like to see it listed on
a stock exchange. In contrast a major engineering firm will want a joint
venture of direct equity position that avoids the complications and overheads
of running a public company.
There is a lot to understand and to a lot of structuring to do before an
exploration company can accept investment.
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