NAUTILUS Mineral Ltd has been urged by the Governor of New Ireland Sir Julius Chan to set up onshore base facility in the province.
Sir Julius made the move after Nautilus country manager Mel Togolo delivered a brief on the company’s activities and forecasts on its Solowara 1 project at the summit in Kavieng.
Mr Togolo said New Ireland offered the best business option for Nautilus in terms of proximity of its offshore activity, stable environment and good people.
Sir Julius said his government was watching the operations of Nautilus with keen interest because it would not only apply the latest technology in underwater mining but would also expose the province to the rest of the world.
“As the Americans and Russians had gone to space, New Irelanders must conquer the ocean floor,” Sir Julius said.
The operations of Nautilus in Solowara cover 15km from New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago and stretches from the Namatanai west coast to Djaul Island toward the north.