Nautilus Minerals Pacific Pty Ltd

Soil Machine Dynamics Limited

Eda Kopa Limited

Nicholas William Ridley

Roland Gunter Berndt

Glen Smith

Glen Robert Jones

Daal Hallam Jaffers

Antony Eliot Inglis

Anthony Paul O'Sullivan

Michael Howitt

Ian Maskell

Glen Martindale Smith

Anthony Paul O'SULLIVAN

A seafloor auxiliary mining tool for use in a seafloor mining system. The seafloor auxiliary mining tool has a seafloor locomotion system enabling traversal of the seafloor. Umbilical connections receive power and control signals from a surface source. A boom mounted auxiliary cutting tool is configured to cut extremities of a seafloor deposit. Cuttings produced by the auxiliary cutting tool are sized by sizing means, to ensure such cuttings are no greater than a desired size.

Method and apparatus for auxilary seafloor mining

A seafloor bulk mining tool for production cutting of a seafloor bench. The tool uses a tracked locomotion system to travel across a seafloor bench. Power and control interfaces receive power and control signals from a surface source. The tool has a drum cutter for cutting the bench, and a sizing grill adjacent the drum cutter for sizing cuttings as they are produced by the drum cutter. A drum shroud may also be provided to help contain cuttings. A suction inlet can be used to capture cuttings as they are produced, for example in conjunction with a spade and augers.

Method and apparatus for bulk seafloor mining

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Wallsend, United Kingdom

Nicholas William Ridley