VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Sept. 5, 2006) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") is pleased to report high grade gold-silver-zinc mineralization encountered from the Solwara 2 and Solwara 3 Prospects in its 100% owned exploration license EL 1383 within territorial waters of Papua New Guinea ("PNG") see Fig 1: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/Solwara-prospect-location.pdf
Sixty eight (68) surface samples collected on EL 1383 averaged 10.3g/t gold (Au), 22.1% zinc (Zn), 418g/t silver (Ag).
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Solwara Project - Summary Sampling Results
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Prospect samples Au Ag Zn Pb Cu
(n) ppm ppm % % %
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Solwara 2 37 6.2 226 22.8 0.2 1.3
Solwara 3 26 15.4 488 22.4 1.1 1.3
NE areas 5 13.6 1476 14.9 2.6 0.3
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Average 68 10.3 418 22.1 0.7 1.2
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(For full details of Sampling Results see http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/Surface-Samples-Results-Solwara-2_3.pdf and sample locations see Fig 2 http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/Solwara-prospect-sample-locations.pdf)
David Heydon Nautilus CEO comments, "The sampling of high-grade gold-zinc mineralization at the Solwara 2 and 3 prospects confirms the prospectivity of Nautilus' ground holding in PNG. We are particularly encouraged with the extent and number of "chimney" fields discovered during the brief ten day reconnaissance survey. Clearly we have several high grade Au, Ag and Zn mineralized systems within EL 1383 requiring detailed follow up." Heydon says that, "Nautilus now has the potential to broaden its commodity base with the addition of zinc and silver to its existing gold and copper portfolio."
Solwara 2 is located 210 kilometres WNW of the Solwara 1 high grade copper - gold project, where as previously reported, 88 surface sulphide samples averaged 15.5g/t Au, 10.8% Cu (http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/2006-05-25_NR.pdf) The Solwara 2 Prospect comprises two NE trending fields containing sphalerite-rich sulfide "chimneys" each field approximately 250m long and 30m to 40m wide (Fig. 2). Solwara 3 is located 1 km NE of Solwara 2 and comprises a further 250m by 40m field containing sphalerite-rich sulfide "chimneys". Additional reconnaissance sampling at two locations, approximately 2km and 10km to the NE of Solwara 3 also indicates potential for additional high grade Au, Ag and Zn mineralized systems. The Solwara 2 and 3 areas are hosted by pillow basalts along the central Manus Ridge (Fig. 1) of the Manus Back Arc Basin. EL 1383 covers 2,546 km2 of the central Manus Ridge and this 10 day reconnaissance survey only covered 10 km2 of this major structural feature.
Sampling was completed during ten days of a collaborative exploration project with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution using the Scripps Institute Vessel Melville to deploy the remote operated vehicle "JASON" and the autonomous underwater vehicle "ABE". In total 68 samples were collected by JASON and 10km2 of detailed bathymetric and geophysical data were collected by ABE. David Heydon Nautilus CEO commented "in addition to the above survey, the vessel has just completed a brief survey of a prospective area between Solwara 1 and Solwara 2 and samples have been offloaded and sent to Australia for analysis"
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 17,500km2 of exploration licenses and applications. (For location of tenements incorporating the Solwara Project see http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/pdf/TenementLocationMap.pdf
Sample Custodianship
All sampling, sample handling and analysis was completed under the supervision of Nautilus personnel. Sampling was carried out aboard the vessel MV Melville, whilst at sea. All sub-samples were placed into pre-numbered calico bags. The bagged samples were then subsequently placed into larger polyweave bags. The polyweave bags were sealed with security tags, which were then signed by the supervising geologist on site at the time.
Laboratory Analysis
All analyses were carried out by ALS Laboratory Group in Brisbane, Australia. ALS operates quality systems based on international standards ISO/IEC17025:1999 "General requirements for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories" and ISO9001:2000 "Quality Management Systems - Requirements".
QA/QC
External certified geochemical reference materials prepared by Geostats Pty Ltd, of Perth, Western Australia and independently tested, and field duplicate samples were interspersed at regular intervals between the 68 samples submitted for analysis. These reference materials comprised "standards", with known and statistically tested concentrations of the major base and precious metals, and "blanks", with extremely low concentrations of the major base and precious metals. Standards or blanks were submitted approximately every 10th sample. This frequency resulted in approximately 10% of all samples submitted consisting of standards and blanks. Evaluation of these standards and blanks indicate that the quality of the analyses are within acceptable limits.
Qualified Person
These results have been compiled under the supervision of Anthony O'Sullivan Chief Operating Officer of Nautilus. Anthony is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has 18 years experience in mining and exploration geology, and is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43 - 101. He consents to his name being used in this release.
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
