May 15, 2008 Second Phase of 2008 Deep Sea Exploration Program Underway
News Release Number 2008-16
Toronto Ontario, May 15, 2008 - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX & AIM: NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces that Teck Cominco Limited ("Teck Cominco") has commenced the second phase of its 2008 US$12 million offshore exploration program, with the departure from Singapore today of the vessel DEA Surveyor (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/dea_surveyor.jpg). This 150-day program will involve geochemical surveying and sampling, and Remote Operated Vehicle ("ROV") based sampling over Nautilus tenements in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea ("PNG") and the exclusive economic zone of Tonga. Part of this program will involve following up on targets defined by surveys completed by the MV Sepura in PNG earlier this month.
VP Exploration for Teck Cominco, Fred Daley commented: "We have an aggressive offshore exploration program that we are implementing in 2008. This program involves four vessels deploying geophysical and geochemical instruments; and in the case of the DEA Surveyor, a ROV that will have the capability to take rock samples."
David Heydon, Nautilus' CEO commented: "The DEA Surveyor's cruise is the second phase of Teck Cominco's 2008 $US12 million exploration program. The combined Nautilus and Teck Cominco exploration programs will result in expenditures in excess of US$30 million in 2008, as we build our prospect inventory and project portfolio while focusing on the successful permitting and development of the Solwara 1 Project."
Options Exercised
As a result of the exercise of options, the Company has made an application for 52,000 common shares to be admitted to the AIM and TSX. The shares are expected to be admitted to trading on May 21, 2008.
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper seafloor massive sulphide deposits and subject to timely permitting is positioning itself to become an emerging producer in 2010. 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 on AIM, and has among its largest shareholders two of the world's leading international resource companies, Teck Cominco (7.2%) and Anglo American (5.7%). Epion (22.4%) is controlled by the founder of Metalloinvest one of the largest and fastest growing mining and metallurgical holdings in Russia.
