1st Quarter Results
15 June 2011 - 4:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMNUS
1st Quarter Results
FOR: NAUTILUS MINERALS INC.
TSX, AIM SYMBOL: NUS
June 15, 2011
Nautilus First Quarter Results
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 15, 2011) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(AIM:NUS)
made significant progress in the development of its pioneering seafloor resource project at Solwara 1,
in the Bismarck Sea of PNG, in the first quarter of 2011.
The highlights of the quarter were as follows:
/T/
(1) Mining Lease Granted. In January, the PNG Government granted
Nautilus the first Mining Lease in the Pacific region to allow deep
sea resource development in the Bismarck Sea. The lease provides
Nautilus with a 20 year licence to mine an area of approximately 59
km2 surrounding Solwara 1, 30 km north of Rabaul, where Nautilus
intends to mine high-grade copper and gold deposits on the seafloor,
at depths of approximately 1600 metres.
(2) PNG Government acquires 30% interest in Solwara 1 project. On March
29, 2011, the PNG Government exercised an option to acquire a 30%
stake in Nautilus' Solwara 1 project. The State's share will be held
through Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd., which holds the State's mining
and petroleum assets. The State's initial payment to secure its 30%
holding will be approximately US$20-25 million, which represents its
share of the exploration and development costs incurred up to the
date of grant of the mining lease in January 2011. The final amount
will be determined through an audit process, with payment to be made
by August 1, 2011. In future, Petromin will contribute funds to the
Solwara 1 project in proportion to its ownership interest.
(3) Exploration drilling campaign conducted. During the quarter, an
exploration drilling campaign was conducted in the Bismarck Sea in
Papua New Guinea with encouraging results. As part of the 2010/2011
drilling program another potential development project has been
identified at Solwara 12, which is 25 km to the northwest of Solwara
1. The drilling program was completed in May 2011. Results of the
program are currently being assessed and will be released later this
year.
(4) Strong cash position maintained. Nautilus completed the quarter with
a strong cash position, holding $139 million in cash and cash
equivalents. Two milestone payments were made for engineering and
construction of Seafloor Production Tools during the quarter, and
additional cash drawdowns were associated with the exploration
campaign.
/T/
Since the end of the quarter, the Company has announced the formation of a strategic partnership with
German shipping company, Harren & Partner, to own and operate a Production Support Vessel (PSV), which
will serve as the operational base for Nautilus to extract high grade copper and gold at the Solwara 1
project.
On 24th May 2011, Nautilus launched a marketed public offering of common shares. The Company received
a positive response from investors during marketing of the proposed transaction but adverse market
conditions meant that it was not in the interests of shareholders for the transaction to proceed and
on 10th June, the offering was withdrawn. The Company will evaluate a range of alternative options
available to it to access capital in the future.
CEO Steve Rogers said the first quarter had seen a number of important milestones achieved for
Nautilus.
"The granting of the Mining Lease was a major step forward for us, and we also were very pleased to
welcome the PNG Government as a partner in this important project. The subsequent formation of the
Harren joint venture has secured a state of the art vessel for the project.
"Nautilus has now developed significant momentum. We are looking at alternative capital raising plans
and look forward to announcing the results of our exploration campaigns in the coming months," said
Mr. Rogers.
The Company has today released its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter
ended March 31, 2011 together with Management's Discussion and Analysis.
The Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis have been filed on www.sedar.com and
are also available on the Company's website www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Investors-Financials.asp.
Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor
massive sulphide deposits and is currently developing its first project. The Company's main focus is
the Solwara 1 project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western
Pacific Ocean.
Nautilus is listed on the TSX and AIM stock exchanges, and has among its largest shareholders two of
the world's leading international resource companies, Anglo American (11.1%) and Teck Resources
(6.8%), as well as Metalloinvest, one of the largest and fastest growing mining and metallurgical
holding companies in Russia, which beneficially owns 21% of the Company's issued shares through
Gazmetall Holding (Cyprus) Limited.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Investor Relations
+1 (416) 551 1100
investor@nautilusminerals.com
OR
Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Joe Dowling
Vice President Investor Relations and Communications
+61 (7) 3318 5544 or Cell: +61 431 365 741
jjd@nautilusminerals.com
www.nautilusminerals.com
OR
Numis Securities Limited
John Harrison
Nominated Adviser
+ 44(0) 20 7260 1000
OR
Numis Securities Limited
James Black
Corporate Broking
+ 44(0) 20 7260 1000
Neither the TSX nor the London Stock Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this press release.
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