Kris Van Nijen: It's a caterpillar. It's a caterpillar track, so we said, "What is the fastest caterpillar on Earth?" And it's called the Patania ruralis.
Kris Van Nijen, the managing director of Global Sea Mineral Resources, or GSR, told us Patania cost $12 million. It's what you might expect if you crossed a bulldozer with a giant vacuum cleaner and then stuffed it with electronics.
Kris Van Nijen: So the nodules are sucked into a stream and they go into the system. It's got the capacity to store three tons of nodules.
Bill Whitaker: Three tons of --
Kris Van Nijen: Three tons of nodules.
Bill Whitaker: How many nodules are down there?
Kris Van Nijen: It is estimated that there is more nickel, more cobalt, and more manganese than on the rest of the planet.
In 2017, GSR was the first to put a robot on the seafloor. Last summer, expectations were high for Patania's second plunge into the Pacific. A specially built frame swung the35-ton machine over the edge of the ship, a fibre optic umbilical cord unspooling as it sank from sight. But then something went wrong, the crew lost the signal to Patania. The test was called off.
Bill Whitaker: Was that-- a big setback?
Kris Van Nijen: A very big setback.
Bill Whitaker: You have said that-- the deep sea has no mercy. Is this what you mean?
