Impossible Metals has announced that its Eureka Collection System™ has become the first in the world to selectively recover polymetallic nodules from the deep ocean using a fully autonomous underwater robot, completing a scientific dive in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone at a depth of over 4,000 meters (2.5 miles).

Impossible Metals’ Eureka Collection System™ has achieved the world’s first autonomous, selective recovery of polymetallic nodules in the CCZ. (Image credit: Impossible Metals)

“The questions we set out to answer are answered. Eureka is proven, patented, and ready,” said Steve Curnutte, Executive Chairman and CEO.

It is the first time ever a fully autonomous underwater robot has selectively collected nodules, and done so gently, hovering above the seabed without a riser pipe.

The dive recovered approximately 450 grams of nodules, which will be used by Viridian Biometals to study bacteria populations residing in the nodules.…