Canada’s Nautilus Minerals (TSX:NUS) said Friday that Papua New Guinea was releasing US$113 million placed into escrow in May 2014 next month.
The sum will be given on the completion of the sale of 15% of its copper-gold Solwara 1 project, offshore PNG, to Eda Kopa (Solwara), which had been nominated by the country’s government to take up this interest.
Earlier this month the Toronto-based company inked a deal with Marine Assets Corp for the charter of a 227-meter-long (745-foot) ship to be used as a floating base at the project.
The Solwara 1 project, located in the minerals-rich Manus basin, was originally slated to begin production late last year, but long-dragged disagreements with the PNG government affected the original timeline.
Nautilus, the first yet not the only one exploring the ocean floor for polymetallic massive sulphide deposits, it still expects Solwara to become the first project commercial deep-sea mining in the world.