人人见过海上平台采油，但是你见过海上平台采金属矿么？

人人见过海上平台采油，但是你见过海上平台采金属矿么？

鹦鹉螺浮动基地的计算机演绎。 （由Nautilus Minerals提供）

Computer rendition of Nautilus' floating base. (Courtesy of Nautilus Minerals)

加拿大的Nautilus Minerals（TSX：NUS），世界上第一个也不是唯一的海底矿工，正准备在2019年初在巴布亚几内亚沿岸的Solwara 1金，铜和银项目开始运营。

Canada’s Nautilus Minerals (TSX:NUS), the world's first yet not the only seafloor miner, is on track to start operations at its Solwara 1 gold, copper and silver project off the coast of Papua Guinea in early 2019.

位于多伦多的公司也正在开发墨西哥沿岸的另一个水下项目，预计明年中期将准备好所有的海底采矿工具，以便能够在俾斯麦海基地开展业务项目。不久之后，首席执行官麦克·约翰斯顿（Mike Johnston）在Seeker.com 上发布。

The Toronto-based company, which also is developing another underwater project, off the coast of Mexico, expects to have all its undersea mining tools ready to go by mid-next year, so it can kick-off operations at the Bismarck Sea-based project shortly after, chief executive Mike Johnston told Seeker.com.

该公司的海底生产机器，每个大小的一个小房子，都配备了大量的岩石破碎的牙齿。 （由Nautilus Minerals提供）

The company's seafloor production machines, each the size of a small house, are equipped with massive rock-crushing teeth. (Courtesy of Nautilus Minerals)

但除了鹦鹉螺的颠簸外，道路上还没有一条路。 自从第一次提出以来，其Solwara 1项目主要受到环保人士的反对，他们担心水生生态系统可能受到海底采矿的严重影响。

But the road hasn’t been one except of bumps for Nautilus. Since first proposed, its Solwara 1 project has met with some opposition mostly from environmentalists, who fear the aquatic ecosystem could be severely affected by mining the seabed.

该公司也面临着与巴布新几内亚政府长期拖延的争议，该政策在2014年可以放弃。从那时起，项目进展迅速，竞争开始蓬勃发展。

The company also faced some hurdles long-dragged dispute with the Papua New Guinea government, which it was able to put aside in 2014.  Since then, progress on the project has moved quickly, while competition has begun to flourish.

辅助切割机首先沿着海底，去除崎岖的地形，并为其他机器创造长凳。 它具有悬臂安装的切割头，用于灵活性。 （由Nautilus Minerals提供）

An auxiliary cutter goes along the sea floor first, removing rough terrain and creating benches for the other machines to work on. It has a boom-mounted cutting head for flexibility. (Courtesy of Nautilus Minerals)

据估计，目前负责向两国政府和公司颁发勘探许可证的联合国国际海底管理局（ISA）已批准了26项此类许可证。

It’s estimated that the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority (ISA), which is in charge of issuing exploration licences to both governments and companies has granted 26 such permits so far.

国家包括新西兰，纳米比亚，斐济，汤加，瓦努阿图和所罗门群岛在内的国家也批准了海底矿产勘查。 库克群岛甚至进行了矿产勘探招标程序，但是巴布亚新几内亚是该地区唯一获得海底采矿许可证的国家。

Countries including New Zealand, Namibia, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands have also granted permits for seabed mineral exploration. The Cook Islands has even undertaken a minerals exploration tender process, but PNG is the only country in the region to have granted a licence for ocean floor mining.