Nautilus Dispute With the State of PNG
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jun 01, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Nautilus Minerals
(CA:NUS)(otcqx:NUSMF)(aim:NUS) advises that it is in dispute with the Independent
State of Papua New Guinea (the State) as to the parties' obligations to complete
the Agreement entered into on 29 March 2011. Nautilus has initiated the dispute
resolution process provided for in the Agreement, which may lead to a referral of
the dispute to arbitration if it can not be resolved through further discussions
amongst senior representatives of the parties over an initial 10 day period.
The State exercised its option under the Agreement to acquire a 30% interest in
the Solwara 1 Project through its nominee, a subsidiary of Petromin PNG Holdings
Limited. However, the State asserts that Nautilus has not met certain obligations
on which completion is dependent, and that Nautilus has breached the Agreement.
Nautilus refutes these assertions.
As previously disclosed, under the Agreement the State's nominee (Petromin
subsidiary) must pay (among other amounts) its share of costs incurred in the
development of the Project up to completion to acquire its Project interest (see
links section for full press release). Unless and until the dispute is resolved,
completion will be delayed or may not occur and Nautilus must continue to carry
these costs. This may lead to Nautilus needing to slow or defer the build program
for Project equipment, which would have consequential impacts on the scheduled
commencement of operations and overall Project costs.
Nautilus will provide a further update, including as to any slowing or deferral
of the build program, in due course following any further developments.
Conference Call
A Conference Call and Webcast will be held next week, details of which will be
provided in due course.
Links
nautilusminerals.com
6&_Type=News-Releases&_Title=PNG-Government-Confirms-Investment-in-Solw ara-1
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to explore the ocean floor for polymetallic
seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is developing its first project at Solwara
1, in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, where it is aiming to produce
copper, gold and silver. The company has been granted all necessary environmental
and mining permits.
Nautilus also holds approximately 600,000 km2 of highly prospective exploration
acreage in the western Pacific; in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and
Tonga, as well as in international waters in the eastern Pacific.
A Canadian registered company, Nautilus is listed on the TSX:NUS and AIM:NUS
stock exchanges and OTCQX: NUSMF. Its corporate office is in Brisbane, Australia.
Its major shareholders include Metalloinvest, the largest iron ore producer in
Europe and the CIS, which has a 21% holding, global mining group Anglo American,
which holds an 11% interest and MB Holdings, an Oman based group with interests
in mining, oil & gas, which holds a 9.98% interest. |
