Nautilus Minerals Inc.: Vessel Cargo Handling Equipment Contract Awarded

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 10, 2015) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(OTCQX:NUSMF) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces that the order for the cargo handling equipment to be used on the Company's production support vessel has been awarded to Bedeschi SPA (www.bedeschi.it), located in Italy. This is the second major equipment contract to be awarded by the shipyard, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Limited.

Mike Johnston, Nautilus' CEO, commented, "we are excited to be building relationships with such a long established and reputable world class supplier to the global port and shipping industries, as we work toward the completion of our first vessel."

This state of the art cargo handling system will be used on the production support vessel to load the dewatered material into four storage holds and is designed to recover the material from the storage holds and transfer it directly to a handymax vessel for shipment of the material to China. The use of the Bedeschi system therefore (i) reduces the costs associated with material handling from that originally expected for such costs and (ii) eliminates the need for multiple handling of material, which improves the safety of marine operations around the vessel.

Last year Nautilus announced it had entered into an agreement with Marine Assets Corporation ("MAC"), for the charter of a vessel to be first deployed for use at the Solwara 1 Project ("Project") and that MAC had entered into a contract with Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Ltd., to design and construct the vessel in accordance with Nautilus' specifications.

The vessel will first serve as the operational base to extract and transport high grade copper and gold material from the Project site, in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea, after funding is obtained for completion of the development of the Project.

When completed, the vessel will measure 227 metres in length and 40 metres in width with accommodation for up to 180 people and generate approximately 31MW of power. All of the below deck mining equipment will be installed in the vessel during the build process to minimize the equipment integration to be completed following delivery of the vessel. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of 2017.

Links:

http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=682236

http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=685730

http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=695585

For more information please refer to www.nautilusminerals.com

Neither the TSX nor the OTCQX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Certain of the statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to the design and construction of the vessel, the expected timing of completion of the vessel and plans for advancing the Project towards production. We have made numerous assumptions about such statements. Even though our management believes the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information by its nature involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Please refer to our most recently filed Annual Information Form in respect of material assumptions and risks related to the prospects of extracting minerals from the seafloor and other risks relating to the Company's business and plans for development of the Project. With respect to the design and construction of the vessel, the Company is assuming that the vessel will be built according to the Nautilus specifications and on schedule. Risks related to such arrangement include the delay to the delivery of the vessel and a consequent delay to the commencement of mining at the Project site. Risks related to advancing the Project towards production include the risk that the Company will be unable to obtain at all or on acceptable terms the remaining financing necessary to fund completion of the build of the Company's seafloor production system. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking statements and information as conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada.

About Nautilus Minerals Inc.

Nautilus is the first company to explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor massive sulphide deposits. Nautilus was granted the first mining lease for such deposits at the prospect known as Solwara 1, in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, where it is aiming to produce copper, gold and silver. The company has also been granted its environmental permit for this site.

Nautilus also holds approximately 420,000 km² of highly prospective exploration acreage in the western Pacific; in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga, as well as in international waters in the eastern Pacific.

A Canadian registered company, Nautilus is listed on the (TSX:NUS) stock exchange and trades on the (OTCQX:NUSMF). Its corporate office is in Brisbane, Australia. Its major shareholders include MB Holding Company LLC, an Oman based group with interests in mining, oil & gas, which holds a 28.14% interest, Metalloinvest, the largest iron ore producer in Europe and the CIS, which has a 20.89% holding and global mining group Anglo American, which holds a 5.99% interest (each on a non-diluted basis, excluding loan shares outstanding under the Company's share loan plan).