Nautilus Minerals Inc.: Further Update on Dispute Process with State of PNG
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jun 20, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Nautilus Minerals Inc.
("Company" or "Nautilus") (CA:NUS)(otcqx:NUSMF)(aim:NUS) announces that the
Independent State of Papua New Guinea (the "State") has issued a Notice of
Arbitration in relation to the dispute which has arisen under the Agreement
between the parties dated 29 March 2011.
Following the initiation of the dispute resolution process by the Company on June
1, 2012 and subsequent meetings between the parties (see links section for full
press releases) the Company had understood the State wanted to resolve the
dispute, particularly in light of a letter to the Company from the Honourable
Peter O'Neill CMG MP, the Prime Minister of the State, dated June 6, 2012. In
that letter the Prime Minister outlined a number of key principles to be
reflected in relation to the joint venture for the Solwara 1 Project (the
"Project"). Nautilus considered this to be a suitable basis for continuation of
the discussions in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
The State has now issued a Notice of Arbitration to the Company which asserts
that Nautilus has not met certain obligations on which completion of the
transactions contemplated by the Agreement is dependent, that Nautilus has
breached the Agreement and that the State is entitled to terminate the Agreement.
Nautilus has and continues to refute these assertions and maintains that it is
the State who has breached the Agreement, not Nautilus.
As previously disclosed, under the Agreement the State's nominee (a subsidiary of
Petromin PNG Holdings Limited) 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 continue to attempt to resolve the dispute with the State in an
effort to avoid a costly arbitration process. On completion of its review of the
Notice and further meetings in PNG, Nautilus will provide further details of its
plans by Friday, June 29, 2012. |
