Chatham Rock and Boskalis set to extend partnership

Monday 9th July 2012

Deep sea miner Chatham Rock Phosphate will start work on the next stage of its undersea project after meetings last week with Netherlands-based maritime infrastructure company, Royal Boskalis Westminster.

The two companies have been working together since June 2011, with Boskalis designing a process to exact phosphate nodules from the seabed. Boskalis has confirmed its commitment to CRP and will now focus refining its method for recovering and separating the phosphate nodules, which CRP hopes to mine in deep offshore waters on the Chatham Rise, east of Christchurch.

“We see the fledgling deep-sea mining industry as an interesting growth opportunity that fits perfectly with our position as the leading dredging and marine experts," said Peter Berdowski, chief executive at Boskalis said in a statement.

"The Chatham Rise project allows us to draw on our wealth of expertise to contribute to the successful development of this unique project together with our partner Chatham.” Boskalis's key concerns include capital and operating cost, minimisation of possible environmental effects and the optimisation of operating efficiencies. Shares in CRP were unchanged on 25 cents.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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