Nautilus Minerals Continues Attempts to Resolve PNG Issue

Nautilus Minerals Inc. announces that in addition to preparing its response to the Notice of Arbitration received from the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (the “State”), it continues to attempt to work with the State in an effort to resolve matters amicably.

Nautilus and the state have agreed on the appointment of former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the Honourable Murray Gleeson AC QC, as the arbitrator. The arbitration will be conducted in Sydney, Australia under UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and may take several months to conclude, provided that Nautilus and the State comply with the timetable set by the arbitrator and otherwise act in accordance with the Rules. The State has on 13 July 2012 also issued the company with a Second Notice of Arbitration in relation to disputes concerning certain statements made by the parties and whether such statements were made in accordance with the Agreement dated 29 March 2011. The company will respond to the Second Notice in accordance with the Arbitration Rules.

A resolution of this matter outside of the arbitration process will have to be ratified by the State’s National Executive Counsel (“NEC”), pursuant to a recommendation by the state’s nominated team. State elections are currently underway and it could be some months before a new NEC is formed and is able to meet.

Nautilus confirms its preference is to resolve matters without going through an arbitration process and it is taking steps to meet with the state’s representatives with the aim of achieving this outcome.

The company will provide a further update as the matter progresses.

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Subsea World News Staff , July 17, 2012;  Image: Nautilus Minerals