VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 23, 2006) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") is pleased to announce that it has today issued to Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick") a Special Warrant at a deemed price of $13,679,846.18. The Special Warrant is convertible at no cost on September 11, 2006, to 4,783,163 common shares, equating to a deemed price of $2.86 per common share. The subscription for the Special Warrant has been deemed to have been paid by Barrick through the conversion of its interest in the Papua New Guinea (Solwara) Joint Venture. This closes the transaction that was previously reported in a press release dated July 10, 2006.
President and CEO David Heydon said that "Since agreeing to these terms with Barrick, and taking control of the project, Nautilus has moved the Solwara 1 deposit to pre development status. We have initiated engineering studies of both the offshore mining and land based mineral processing elements of the project and we are now looking at financing options for the development of Solwara 1 whilst scoping long lead time items such as the mining vessel."
Barrick, through its subsidiary Placer Dome, has spent over US$12.2 million in project expenditures under the Farm-In Agreement with Nautilus's subsidiary, Nautilus Minerals Nuigini Limited.
Based on the existing issued capital of the Company, the conversion of this Special Warrant will result in Barrick holding a 9.59% stake in the Company.
Alex Davidson, Barrick's Executive Vice President of Exploration and Corporate Development, said "We are pleased to have a significant equity stake in Nautilus so that we can participate in the future upside of this project."
About Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for gold and copper seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is positioned to become a world leader in underwater mineral exploration. The Company's main focus for 2006 is the Solwara Project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and comprises exploration licenses and applications in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea covering 17,500km2.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Investor Relations
(778) 785-7591
investor@nautilusminerals.com
Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Mr. David Heydon
President & CEO
(778) 785-7591
dheydon@nautilusminerals.com
www.nautilusminerals.com
