Nautilus Minerals Inc (“Company” or “Nautilus”) seeks to clarify recent statements and press coverage regarding the Company’s Solwara 1 Project.
The Company reiterates that the Mining Lease was granted by the State of Papua New Guinea in January 2011 and is not a recent development as has been reported in some news articles.
Further, in a recent interview, Mr. Stephen Rogers, the CEO of the Company, was referenced as saying that Nautilus is in talks with potential partners to sell a stake in the Project and that Nautilus may sell shares to help raise $100 million if it can’t find a partner.
Nautilus will only determine its precise additional funding requirements when it has finalized details of the vessel financing and secures a resolution to the current dispute with the PNG government. The Company continues its efforts on both these matters. The Project equipment build at the end of June was approximately 51% complete. Consistent with Mr. Roger’s statements above, the Company has stated previously in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” filed in conjunction with Financial Results on August 2, 2012, that it may need to rely on the equity markets for future financing of its development of Solwara 1 or alternate financing in the form of joint ventures.
[mappress]
Press Release, August 28, 2012