NAUTILUS MINERALS INC.
Corporate Office:
Suite 1702
141 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 3L5
NEWS RELEASE
Number 2010–21
Nautilus Minerals Intersects More High Grades at Depth
Toronto Ontario, December 16, 2010 – Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX & AIM: NUS). Deepwater seafloor
drilling trials conducted at Nautilus Minerals’ Solwara 1 Project in Papua New Guinea have confirmed the
extension of high grade copper mineralisation beyond the project’s previously identified massive sulphide
system.
Nautilus' CEO, Steve Rogers, said the company is encouraged by the initial results from the trials.
“A number of milestones have been achieved,” he said. “The drilling supports our view that the Solwara 1
resource is likely to extend beyond the previously identified limits and remains open at depth. The focus
now is to optimise core recovery and drilling efficiency of the drilling system, to improve results so that we
can enhance Nautilus’ knowledge of the resource and other Bismarck Sea discoveries”.
The trials involved 16 holes drilled at 13 locations approximately 1600 metres below sea-level and
extending to a maximum depth of 45.2 metres below the seafloor.
Preliminary analysis of recovered drill core has shown the presence of high grade mineralisation at all
sites, with four holes intersecting high grade copper well below the base of the previously modeled
massive sulphide.
Copper grades of up to 30.5% were reported from individual sample intervals and results included an
eight meter intercept averaging 12% copper. These results were based on hand held X-ray fluorescence
(XRF) analyses.
Results are summarised below in table one:
Table One - Initial mineralised intersect report from selected holes drilled at Solwara 1 (based on
XRF analysis of pulp residues).
Hole ID
End
of
Hole
(m)
Interval
Length
(m)
Interval
From
(m)
Interval
To
(m)
Recovery
for
Interval
Copper
(%)
SD167
21.22
19.20
2.02
21.22
13%
9.4
Zinc
(%)
1.0
Comments
Mineralised
interval open at
depth
Interval of
Mineralisation
Intersected Below
Previously
Modelled Depth of
Massive Sulphide
(m)
7.7
2
SD169
35.08
11.49
2.08
13.57
49%
7.1
0.2
SD171
10.72
8.52
1.93
10.45
63%
4.9
0.1
SD172
12.46
8.22
1.98
10.20
25%
14.1
0.1
SD176
18.35
10.05
1.14
11.19
87%
4.6
0.2
0.34
1.06
1.40
100%
7.0
5.1
7.15
1.40
8.55
66%
5.8
0.3
3.70
8.55
12.25
0%
n/a
n/a
7.85
12.25
20.10
70%
11.8
0.1
SD177
42.48
Mineralised
interval open at
depth (note1)
Mineralised
interval open at
depth (note1)
Mineralised
interval open at
depth (note1)
Hole passed into
low-grade
mineralisation
Hole passed into
non-mineralised
footwall.
Note 2
8.1
4.3
6.7
0.5
Note 1: Zone of core loss present between end of interval and end of drill hole.
Note 2: Hole did not reach sufficient depth to intersect the previously modelled base of massive sulphide.
Note 3: Holes SD 178, SD 179 and SD 180 are yet to be logged and analysed.
2010 Trial Drilling Program
The drilling trials tested an improved seafloor drilling system, the Seafloor Geoservices’ ROVdrill3.
Nautilus has been conducting the drilling trials since mid November on board the vessel Rem Etive, using
the ROVdrill3 drilling system. TSMarine is providing the vessel, operating crew, Remotely Operated
Vehicles (ROVs) and drilling equipment required for the project. The ROVdrill3 drilling system is a wireline
diamond drill designed to recover up to 80 meters of 70mm diameter core. To date the following important
equipment operational results have been demonstrated:
1. The drilling rig can successfully land on the terrain typical of the Solwara 1 SMS system (refer
Figure 1);
2. It is functioning mechanically as designed, allowing the rig to collar and operate in ground
conditions typical of the Solwara 1 mineralised system;
3. It has demonstrated improved power performance over the previous ROV drills, enabling
significantly deeper drilling. While the depth capability has not been fully tested, two holes deeper
than 40 meters have been achieved.
4. Core recoveries have been below design specifications and operational refinements are being
implemented to lift recovery rates.
Nautilus announced the world’s first NI43-101 compliant resource estimate for a Seafloor Massive
Sulphide system at Solwara 1 in December 2007. The resource included:
Indicated Mineral Resource: 870 kt @ 6.8% Cu, 4.8 g/t Au, 23 g/t Ag, 0.4% Zn
Inferred Mineral Resource: 1,300 kt @ 7.5% Cu, 7.2 g/t Au, 37 g/t Ag, 0.8% Zn
For the full release, please see the following link: (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/MediaNewsReleases.asp?ReportID=284239).
Selection of Reported Intervals in Drilling Trials
Intervals were selected for reporting based on geological logging and handheld XRF analysis of
pulverised quarter-core samples. XRF analysis of the pulps from samples within the selected intervals
have generally returned >3% Cu or >9% Zn. Some lower-grade samples have been included in an
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interval where they were of similar material, compose only a minor portion of the interval, and if they did
not reduce the overall grade of the interval to less than 3% Cu or 9% Zn. Intervals were broken where
there was a length of core loss judged sufficient to lose continuity within the interval, or where there was a
significant lithological or mineralogical change in the recovered material. Zones of core loss within an
interval were assigned the average Cu and Zn grade of the recovered material either side of the core
loss. Zones of core loss external to recovered material were not included in any calculated interval. All
reported Cu and Zn values within the interval are length-weighted averages of individual samples.
A full listing of all intersections and core recovery can be seen in Table 2.
Links
Figure 1: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/maps/PhotoROVdrill3onlocation.jpg
Figure 2: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/Solwara2010drillholelocations.pdf
Table 2: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/intersectionsandcorerecovery.pdf
Drilling Details
Core drilling for the 2010 drilling trial was undertaken using Seafloor Geoservices ROVdrill3, the next
generation of Perry Slingsby’s sub-sea diamond drilling rigs. All holes are drilled with less than a five
degree variation from vertical. Drill core (69.9mm diameter) was processed entirely on the vessel,
including geological logging, XRF analysis, geotechnical logging and geochemical sampling. All sampling
and logging were performed under the supervision of senior Nautilus personnel and followed procedures
first established in 2007 and updated for the new drilling program.
Treatment of Core Loss
Core loss was assigned to the top of the initial run of the drill hole and to the bottom of every subsequent
run unless drill data or geological data suggested otherwise. This provides a conservative estimate of the
thickness of mineralisation.
Sampling Procedure
Quarter-core samples are systematically cut from the drill core for geochemical analysis. As part of a
documented QAQC program, certified reference material and field duplicates are inserted into the sample
sequence. All material is prepared by an independent sample preparation facility onboard the vessel
managed by Société Générale de Surveillance (today, known as SGS). Samples are crushed and
pulverised to provide a 150g pulp for certified analysis at an SGS facility in Australia. Samples are
transported in sealed packages under a documented chain of custody. Final analysis results for samples
from the trial drilling are currently awaited. The pulp residue that is not sent for analysis is returned by
SGS to Nautilus for handheld XRF analysis.
Onboard XRF Analysis
* Note on results of indicative analyses from handheld XRF, NITON XL3t 900s Analyser.
A handheld XRF Analyser (NITON XL3t 900s GOLDD) is used to obtain indications of the grade of drill
core. It does not provide the accuracy required to report assays. A XRF reading was taken on the pulp
residues returned from the SGS preparation laboratory for each submitted sample, except in a small
number of samples where residue material was not available due to a short sample interval. The pulp
residue represents a well homogenised sub-sample of the drill core having been pulverised to 75
microns.
A suite of reference material, including certified reference materials are used to regularly test the
calibration of the XRF analyser. These results indicate that the XRF tool is a reliable method for providing
indicative results of the tenor of mineralisation.
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The NITON XL3t 900s analyser is used by Nautilus in a calibration mode for rapid base-metal analysis at
concentrations >1%. Results may have low precision and accuracy in samples with base-metal
concentrations of <1%.
Where pulp residues are not yet available for a sample interval, the XRF analyser is used to collect pointsample information on non-prepared drill core to provide guidance to Nautilus’ geologists onboard the
vessel.
Qualified Person
The exploration results reported in this announcement have been compiled under the supervision of
Nautilus’ Resource Leader Thomas Sant. Mr Sant a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, a UK
Chartered Geologist and a registered European Geologist, has over 16 years experience in mineral
exploration seeking hydrothermal systems, and is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument
43-101. Mr. Sant has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor massive
sulphide deposits and is currently developing its first project. 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 AIM stock exchanges, and has among its largest shareholders two of
the world's leading international resource companies Anglo American (11.1%) and Teck Resources
(6.8%), as well as Metalloinvest, one of the largest and fastest growing mining and metallurgical holding
companies in Russia, which beneficially owns 21.0% of the Company’s issued shares through Gazmetall
Holding (Cyprus) Limited.
For more information please refer www.nautilusminerals.com or contact:
Investor Relations
Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Toronto)
Email: investor@nautilusminerals.com
Tel: +1 (416) 551 1100
Joe Dowling
Vice President Investor Relations and Communications
Tel: +61 (7) 3318 5544
Cell: +61 431 365 741
Email: jjd@nautilusminerals.com
Numis Securities Limited
Nominated adviser: John Harrison
Corporate broking: James Black
Tel: + 44(0) 20 7260 1000
Neither the TSX nor the London Stock Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this press release.