Polymetallic nodules produced onboard the Allseas production vessel Hidden Gem.
Offshore staff
CHATEL-SAINT-DENIS, Switzerland – Allseas reports that “hundreds of thousands of mineral-rich polymetallic nodules” have arrived onboard its production vessel Hidden Gem following initial pilot collection runs in the Pacific.
The “collector vehicle” gathered more than 14 tonnes of nodules during a one-hour collection run at a 4,380-meter water depth. Allseas says that this is a “pioneering moment” for it and its partner TMC, being the first integrated system test conducted in the Pacific’s Clarion Clipperton Zone since the 1970s.
Allseas says that nodules were transported 4.3 kilometers from the seafloor to the surface in 12 minutes via a jumper and riser system which was designed and built by its engineers. The company added that the milestone comes less than two years since it embarked upon construction of its pilot nodule collection system.
