Canadian mining company Nautilus Minerals is facing a severe financial crisis that threatens not just its plans for experimental seabed mining in Papua New Guinea, but the future of the whole company.

Nautilus says not only is it delaying any further project spending, it desperately needs short-term emergency funding to continue company operations to allow staff more time to look for ‘significant additional funding’ or an “alternative transaction aimed at maximising shareholder value”.

Nautilus says “there can be no assurances that the Company will be able to obtain the necessary bridge financing or project financing on acceptable terms or at all”.

This may lead to it “suspending or terminating the development of the seafloor production system and the Solwara 1 Project”.

Nautilus says it will definately no longer be able to meet the scheduled deployment of the mining equipment at the Solwara 1 site in 2018.

Read more: Nautilus Minerals facing financial collapse