The Fijian Government has granted the company 14 special prospecting
licences, covering a total of approximately 60,000 km2. The
territory is considered highly prospective, having been the subject of
marine research by Japanese, French and other scientific cruises in the
late 1980s and early 1990s. The licences each have an initial term of two
years.
Under the terms of a regional area of interest agreement signed with
Teck Resources in 2007, Teck holds the right to earn an interest in the
Fijian tenements by contributing to exploration spending. Teck has not yet
indicated whether it intends to exercise that right.
Following the grant of the Fijian leases, Nautilus holds exclusive
exploration tenements covering a total of approximately 230,000
km2 in the western Pacific, and has applied for a further
370,000 km2, taking the total to approximately 600,000
km2 (www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/FijiTenementsAug11.pdf).
Nautilus' CEO, Steve Rogers said the award of the licences was an
important step forward for Nautilus and for Fiji.
"The territory is very promising and has the potential to host
significant high grade deposits of copper, zinc, silver and gold.
"Following the recent grant of exploration licences by the
International Seabed Authority, the Fijian government's decision to select
Nautilus as the first private sector, commercial organisation to be
granted offshore exploration leases reconfirms the leading status of
Nautilus in this new industry," he said.
Nautilus is developing the world's first deepwater seafloor resource
development project at Solwara 1, in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea.
The project is well advanced, with all permitting in place and
construction of remote-controlled seafloor production equipment having
commenced.
About 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 at Solwara 1, 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 21.0% of the Company's issued shares
through Gazmetall Holding (Cyprus) Limited.