Nautilus Minerals Inc. announced that it has commenced wet testing of its new seafloor diamond drill rig, which the Company has developed to relieve the drilling requirements of its future exploration programs. The scope of the testing is to check the operational functionality of the drill rig’s control systems, landing capability, hydraulic functions, video survey systems, and drilling cycle time/performance, in a submerged environment. The testing will also look at the system’s ability to sustain simulated offshore operations at optimal productivity levels while familiarising personnel with all aspects of the equipment and operations, in a reduced cost environment. The Nautilus developed rig, nick-named the “Hobbit” scout rig, has so far successfully met design targets in a series of land-based trials, largely focused on rod handling, functional drilling, and landing stability tests. This wet test program will occur over a two week period, and will expand the testing parameters to include submerged operations and mechanical endurance. The rig design utilises Nautilus’ industry leading seafloor drilling experience to produce a rig that has improved landing and drill cycle capabilities, combined with simplified control systems, umbilical, and launch and recovery requirements that will allow deployment from cheaper vessels resulting in significant reductions to drilling costs. Importantly, the improved rig capabilities are also expected to translate into improved access to sites through the rig's greater stability and smaller footprint, relative to systems available in the current commercial market. The company looks forward to reporting the results of this system. Nautilus will then look to deploy the rig on its South Pacific tenements on successful completion of the trials, subject to raising further funding.