November 13, 2007 Significant High-Grade Copper and Gold Results at Solwara 1 Deposit
Vancouver B.C., November 13, 2007 - Nautilus Minerals Inc. ("Nautilus") (TSX & AIM: NUS) announces that it has received further high-grade copper ("Cu") and gold ("Au") assays over significant widths from this year's drilling program at its Solwara 1 prospect located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea ("PNG") (Figure1). Selected intercepts from the Solwara 1 drilling program are listed in Table 1 below.
Massive Sulphide Intercepts
Hole Number
Interval
(M)
Cu
%
Au
g/t
Pb
%
Zn
%
XRF *
Cu
%
Hole Depth
(m)
From
(m)
To
(m)
SD080
11.4
11.1
6.5
0.0
0.2
12.5
13.2
0.4
11.7
Hole ended in mineralisaton
SD099
5.1
8.9
10.3
0.1
0.1
8.6
13.9
5.2
10.3
Hole ended in mineralisaton
SD100
15.4
4.6
2.6
0.1
0.5
5.1
16.7
1.3
16.7
Hole ended in mineralisaton
SD106
7.9
3.8
2.3
0.1
0.3
3.5
10.4
0.7
8.6
Hole ended in mineralisaton
SD109
9.6
8.3
8.0
0.1
0.9
7.0
10.8
1.3
10.8
Hole ended in mineralisaton
*XRF Cu results are the results from the hand XRF instrument reported previously
David Heydon, Nautilus CEO, commented: "These results confirm that there is a significant high-grade copper and gold deposit at Solwara 1. Results from this set of 36 holes continue to produce excellent mineralised intercepts like hole SD80 with 11.4 metres at 11.1% Cu and 6.5 g/t Au, and hole SD109 with 9.6m at 8.3 % Cu and 8.0 g/t Au."
A total of 111 holes were drilled during the program this year over the Solwara 1 Prospect including holes to obtain samples for metallurgical test-work (figure 1 http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/drillplan.pdf). All samples have been despatched for analysis and metallurgical test work is underway.
A full listing of the mineralised intercepts for holes with assays received to date are listed in table 2 below and listing of assay results are available on the Nautilus website at (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/misc/DrillData.pdf). Additionally examples of the drillcore can be viewed at (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/misc/CorePhotos.jpg).
Options Granted
On November 13, 2007, the Company granted a total of 685,000 options to four new employees and the four non-executive directors at an exercise price of C$4.67 per share to vest at 20% every six months from the issue and expiring on November 13, 2010. The options granted to non-executive directors are received in lieu of payment for their services as a director for the Company.
The details regarding the options granted are as follows:
Name
Date of grant
No. of Options
Exercise Price
Vesting period
Expiration Date
Geoff Loudon
November 13, 2007
150,000
C$4.67
20% every 6 months from date of issue
November 13, 2010
Farhad Moshiri
November 13, 2007
100,000
C$4.67
20% every 6 months from date of issue
November 13, 2010
Russell Debney
November 13, 2007
100,000
C$4.67
20% every 6 months from date of issue
November 13, 2010
David De Witt
November 13, 2007
100,000
C$4.67
20% every 6 months from date of issue
November 13, 2010
Other employees
November 13, 2007
235,000
C$4.67
20% every 6 months from date of issue
November 13, 2010
Total granted
685,000
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is positioned to become an emerging producer in 2010. The Company's main focus for 2008 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 on AIM, and has among its largest shareholders three of the world's largest international resource companies, including Epion (16.8%), Anglo American (6.4%) and Teck Cominco (5.8%).
Neither the TSX nor the London Stock Exchange accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Drill Intercepts
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
Laboratory Analysis:
Analysis was completed by ALS Laboratory Group in Brisbane, Australia. ALS operates quality systems based on international standards ISO/IEC17025:1999 "General requirements for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories" and ISO9001:2000 "Quality Management Systems - Requirements"
Sampling:
All cores were recovered using ROV Drill submarine drilling techniques returning NQ (49mm) diameter core. All holes are vertical and the deposit is essentially flat lying so intercept widths are considered to be true widths. All sampling, sample handling and analysis was completed under the supervision of Nautilus personnel. Sampling was carried out aboard the vessel whilst at sea. Drillcore was split using a core saw, typically with 50% of core submitted for assay and 50% retained for reference or use in geotechnical or metallurgical testwork.
All sub-samples were placed into numbered plastic vacuum sealed bags. The bagged samples were subsequently placed into boxes. The boxes were sealed with uniquely numbered security tags and checked upon arrival to the laboratories. A full electronic chain of custody is maintained whilst the samples are under the care of ALS.
Quality Assurance:
External certified geochemical reference materials were prepared by Geostats Pty Ltd, of Perth, Western Australia with known and statistically tested concentrations of the major base and precious metals. Standards were submitted approximately every tenth sample.
Nautilus has been working closely with Golder and Associates who have been supervising the sampling and collection of geological data, and have been tasked with compiling the subsequent resource estimate and associated NI 43 101 compliant documentation. No significant issues have been noted by Golders in their work to date.
Data Reduction:
Following QA/QC checks, all data have been reviewed and mineralised intervals defined taking into account natural geological boundaries and applying a nominal 2% Cu cuttoff. Zones of lost cores and areas of potential voids were assigned the average grade of material above and below the area of no core recovery. Intercepts averages were calculated using length weighted averages for the sample assays within the intervals. Full assay results are available on the nautilus website at (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/misc/DrillData.pdf).
