News Release Number 2007-19
Vancouver B.C., June 7, 2007 -
Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSXV: NUS, AIM:NUS & NUSR) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces the discovery of an eighth seafloor massive sulphide system in the Company's exploration licenses in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea.
David Heydon, Nautilus CEO commented: "The discovery of a further mineralised area in addition to the three new areas reported on May 15, 2007 is an excellent exploration hit rate and reinforces the prospects Nautilus has for further discoveries within our extensive tenement and application packages in Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Fiji."
"To have discovered 4 new mineralised zones during a 4 week exploration programme highlights the rigour of our programme and the effective use of modern technology and techniques and the potential for further discoveries in the region. The 4 new seafloor massive sulphide systems were located following the reprocessing by Nautilus of geophysical data gathered in 2005 by the Company's then joint venture partner, Placer Dome."
"Having successfully achieved our objective of demonstrating that our exploration techniques can locate seafloor mineralisation systems, the survey vessel
"Wave Mercury" was brought back to the port of Lae, on June 2, 2007 in order to integrate new drill units to the two Remote Operated Vehicles ("ROVs"). (
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/2007-03-21_NRP.jpg)
"The
Wave Mercury will shortly mobilise and over the next 2-3 months will conduct evaluation drilling at Solwara 1 for mine planning purposes."
Heydon added: "With the environment survey undertaken, the announcement on May 31, 2007 of the construction of the purpose built mining ship, the
"Jules Verne", and the Solowara 1 drilling programme about to commence, we remain on track for mining operations in late 2009."
"As we drive Solwara 1 closer towards commercial development the survey ship, the
"Aquila", with its mapping and geophysical surveys, continues to build our future inventory of targets to test in the Bismarck and Solomon Seas."
Solwara 8
The Solwara 8 prospect lies in a water depth of between 1,680m and 1,750m at latitude 151°40'21"; longitude 3°43'43", approximately 750m WSW of Solwara 6 and approximately 47 km west of the Solwara 1 Prospect (
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/maps/TenementMap-5-June07.jpg and
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/maps/Solwara-4-6-7and8.jpg)
The Solwara prospect 8 covers an area of approximately 280m by 60m and lies within a NNW trending structural zone approximately 1 km south of, and possibly linked with, the greater Solwara 4 system.
Indicative Analysis Results from Hand Held XRF Unit
Using a hand held X-ray unit (Niton XLT 592), 30 outcrop samples were analysed from the Solwara 8 region. The X-ray florescence ("XRF") results produced a peak result of 50% zinc in one sample and 37% copper in another. The average for all 30 chimney samples was 9.3% copper, 21.0% zinc and 0.8% lead.
The instrument used for this application does not provide the accuracy required to report assays. These analyses are the mean of 10 point measurements on unprepared wet surfaces of each of the samples reported. The instrument is not calibrated using certified standards and the samples have not been crushed and prepared to minimise matrix effects which may affect the accuracy of the analysis.
The XRF results for Solwara 5, 6 and 7 were announced on May 15, 2007. A summary of the Solwara 5, 6, 7 and 8 sampling using the XRF results is as follows:
Indicative average of analysis using hand held XRF Unit |
Site |
No. of Samples |
Cu (%) |
Zn (%) |
Pb (%) |
Solwara 5 |
5 |
0.6 |
11.0 |
1.9 |
Solwara 6 |
7 |
11.3 |
11.4 |
0.8 |
Solwara 7 |
7 |
3.6 |
13.9 |
0.6 |
Solwara 8 |
30 |
9.3 |
21.0 |
0.8 |
Samples from these prospects are being processed on the exploration vessel and will be forwarded to ALS laboratories in Brisbane, Australia where the samples will be assayed for base and precious metals. Until these results are available, a definitive statement on the grade of these prospects is not possible.
Exploration Programme
Nautilus has deployed two vessels to undertake exploration and environmental baseline studies this year over its PNG exploration licences; the 50m vessel "Aquila" and the 141m vessel "Wave Mercury".
Wave Mercury
The
Wave Mercury is contracted to Nautilus from Canyon Offshore, a member of the Helix Group, and a leading provider of ROVs to the offshore oil and gas industries. The vessel is capable of accommodating 65 people. The
Wave Mercury has onboard two Triton 200 ROVs to extract drill samples of up to 17m in length on the ocean floor. (
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/2007-03-21_NRP.jpg)
Aquila
The
Aquila, which is operated by Williamson and Associates, is focused on identifying new seafloor sulphide mineralisation systems by undertaking mapping and geophysical surveys of the ocean floor. A total of 4,150 line km of surveying is planned for 5 blocks in the Bismarck and Solomon Seas. To date, surveying of 4 of the 5 blocks has been completed with approximately 1,000 line km of surveying remaining.
Environment Programme
Nautilus is undertaking rigorous studies involving some of the world's leading researchers to map the environment and to use this information to develop the Company's proposed mining and development plans to ensure minimal and acceptable environmental impacts from any development.
The first step in submitting an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") to the Papua New Guinea ("PNG") government is to submit an Environmental Inception Report ("EIR") which outlines the studies a company plans to undertake to conduct an environmental impact assessment of its proposed activities.
Nautilus' EIR has been reviewed by the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation and was approved in late May 2007.
Nautilus has completed fieldwork for the environmental baseline study at the Solwara 1 Prospect in preparation for its EIS. The environmental survey campaign commenced on March 20, 2007 and was completed on April 28, 2007.
All of the sampling objectives were met during the 30 day work programme which involved flora and fauna studies, baseline sediment sampling and water sampling. In excess of 550 biological, sediment and water samples were collected and 4,200 sea floor observations logged.
The fieldwork campaign was developed in consultation with Enesar Consulting Pty Ltd, a member of the Coffey Group, and a company experienced with permitting mining operations in PNG.
The work was completed using equipment deployed from an ROV with observation and sampling conducted by experts from Duke University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Australia's national science agency - the CSIRO ("Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation").
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for high grade gold-copper-zinc-silver seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is positioned to become a world leader in underwater mineral exploration.
The Company's main focus for 2007 is the Solwara 1 Project, located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean.
Solwara 1 is located in the Bismarck Sea between the island chains of New Britain and New Ireland. Solwara 1 is situated approximately 50kms north of the town of Rabaul and approximately 95 kms of West of Lihir Island.
The Company has previously announced that it holds exploration prospecting licenses applications in the offshore exclusive economic zone of Fiji and the offshore 1887 Proclamation Area of the Kingdom of Tonga.
Nautilus is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and on AIM, and has among its largest shareholders four of the world's largest international resource companies, including Anglo American (6.4% holding), Teck Cominco (5.8%), Epion (16.8%) and Barrick Gold (3.7%).
Qualified Person
The exploration results reported in this announcement have been compiled under the supervision of Anthony O'Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of Nautilus. Mr O'Sullivan is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has 20 years experience in mining and exploration geology, and is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He consents to his name being used in this release.
For more information please refer
www.nautilusminerals.com or contact:
Investor Relations
Nautilus Minerals Inc. ( Vancouver)
Email: investor@nautilusminerals.com
Tel: +1 (778) 785 7591 |
President & CEO
Mr. David Heydon
Email: ceo@nautilusminerals.com
Tel: +1 (778) 785 7591 |
|
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 |
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7851 7480 |
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