Executive Summary
Nautilus Minerals Inc is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the Western Pacific Ocean. Nautilus is in the business of exploring for Seafloor Massive Sulphide ("SMS") deposits which are considered modern day analogues of Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS") systems - a prime source of the world's onshore copper, gold, zinc and silver deposits. Mine planning is well underway for the world's first seafloor copper gold mine in 1,500 metres of water at the Solwara 1 Project in the Bismarck Sea in Papua New Guinea ("PNG"), 50kms north of Rabaul township. The Company holds more than 521,000 km2 of tenement licences and exploration applications in the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand along the western Pacific Ocean's Rim of Fire. Among Nautilus's cornerstone shareholders are three of the world's largest resource companies, including Anglo American (5.7%), Teck Cominco (7.2%), and Epion Holdings (22.4%).[1]
Company History
Current Events
Business Model
Nautilus Minerals hopes to recover massive sulphides from the seabed of the Bismark Sea (off Papua New Guinea). These contain copper, gold and other metals. Fortunately it raised the cash some time ago, and has $266m (on 30 Sept 08). These sulphides are the result of volcanic activity, and are simply lying on the sea floor (~1,700m below sea level). So far it has found 10 good deposits (Solwara 1-10).
Such rich deposits on land were mined centuries ago, and miners now need to dig deep into hard rocks to recover low grade ore. Having recovered the rock, it must be put into a mill and the valuable metal recovered with great difficulty. On the sea floor, the ore is relatively soft and crumbly (like coal), and is easier to process than land based ores. The difficulty lies in getting the ore to the surface. Nautilus have placed contracts for a remotely operated vehicle to pick the ore from the sea bed, and for a riser system to get the ore to the surface. The ore will then be placed in a ship and then taken to a processor so that the metals can be recovered.
The company hopes to start mining in 2010. It's possible that the equipment might have teething problems, but the oil industry is experienced in this type of operation. Perhaps the biggest…
