News , Nautilus Applies for Mineral Rights Over Vast Areas of Seafloor
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Nov 20, 2006 (CCNMatthews via COMTEX News Network) --
Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") is pleased to announce that following a geological targeting program it has lodged 47 Exploration Licence applications covering prospective areas of the Bismarck Sea in Papua New Guinea (www.nautilusminerals.com/i/maps/2006-11-20_NRM.jpg). These new applications cover a belt 800km long by up to 500km across being an area of 108,295Km2 which with the current granted Nautilus titles and previously lodged applications will provide Nautilus with rights to 122,309 Km2 of prospective acreage in offshore Papua New Guinea.
David Heydon comments that "This strategic move by Nautilus is likely one of the biggest ground staking ever undertaken by a mining company."
This is an exciting step with Nautilus using its first mover advantage as the leader in the emerging seafloor mining space to secure an area about the size of Greece.
It is well known that on land that VMS deposits occur in clusters where a district like Bathurst or Noranda may have dozens of deposits aggregating to hundreds of millions of tonnes of massive sulphide ore. Nautilus's seafloor deposits have genetic similarities to VMS deposits and work on the Solwara Prospects in Nautilus's PNG tenements has already located a cluster of deposits. The Solwara 1 Prospect covers a significant mineralised zone with a strike length of at least 1.3 km, where 88 surface sulphide samples averaged 15.5g/t Au, 10.8% Cu (Link to press release May 25, 2006, www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=138787&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Nautilus-Outlines-High-Grade-Au-Cu-Seabed-Sulphide-Zone.). Sampling at Solwara 2 and Solwara 3 averaging 10.3 g/t Au and 22.1% Zn from 68 samples and Solwara 4 prospect averaging 13.5G/t Au, 23.2% Zn and 11.3% Cu from 28 samples (Link to press releases September 05, 2006, www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=149388&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Nautilus-Reports-High-Grade-Gold-Silver-Zinc-Mineralization, September 26, 2006, www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=151573&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Nautilus-Reports-New-Zone-of-High-Grade-Gold-Silver-Copper-Zinc-Mineralizat...) have demonstrated that these high grade mineralised systems occur in a zone at least 250km long.
Nautilus has recently raised US $68.5 million with an Anglo American Plc subsidiary taking US $25 million and entering into a collaboration agreement (Link to press release October 30, 2006, www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=156276&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=Anglo-American-Invests-US25-million-in-Nautilus-as-part-of-a-US68.5-million...) providing us with the financial and technical resources to mount an aggressive exploration program over this vast prospective region.
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About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold - copper and zinc seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is positioned to become a world leader in underwater mineral exploration. The Company's main focus for 2006 is the Solwara Project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and comprises 122,309Km2 exploration licenses and applications.
SOURCE: Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus Minerals Inc. Investor Relations (778) 785-7591 Email: investor@nautilusminerals.com Nautilus Minerals Inc. Mr. David Heydon President & CEO (778) 785-7591 Email: office@nautilusminerals.com Website: www.nautilusminerals.com