During September 1978, Ocean Minerals Company consortium of Mountain View, California announced it had leased Hughes Glomar Explorer and that during November would begin testing a prototype deepsea mining system in the Pacific Ocean.
Pada bulan September 1978, Konsorsium Perusahaan Mineral Samudra Mountain View, California mengumumkan bahwa mereka telah menyewa Hughes Glomar Explorer dan pada bulan November akan mulai menguji purwarupa sistem pertambangan di Samudra Pasifik.