Umbilical Winches for Nautilus' SPTs Successfully Complete FAT

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 24, 2015) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(OTCQX:NUSMF) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces that it has been advised by Soil Machine Dynamics Limited (SMD) that the umbilical winches for the three Seafloor Production Tools (SPTs) have successfully completed Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT).

Mike Johnston, Nautilus' CEO, commented, "completion of FAT on the umbilical winches marks another significant step in the journey towards seafloor mining in 2018.The winches are now ready for the installation of the umbilical cable. When this task is completed later this year the winches will be dispatched to the shipyard for integration on to the vessel."

Umbilical Winches: What they do

The Solwara 1 winches are approximately 85 tonnes and manage the feed-out and recovery of the SPTs' umbilicals. There is one winch for each SPT. The winches store 2500 metres of armored umbilical, with the umbilical providing the power and control systems to the SPTs through copper wire and fiber optic cables embedded within the armored casing. The umbilical winches will be installed on the production support vessel.

The umbilical winches were designed and built by SMD. The winches are based on standard Oil and Gas industry technology and are utilised throughout the world in deep water construction and related activities. (See figure one in the links section for a picture of the winches).

The umbilical cables that will be installed in the winches were designed and adapted for Nautilus' use by German company, Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke (NSW). NSW is a world leading manufacturer of communications, submarine, overhead, power and offshore cables as well as engineering plastics and environmental products. For over a century now, NSW has been a pioneer in the area of submarine cable technology and communications. (See figures 2 and 3 for pictures of Nautilus' umbilical cable).

Links

Figure 1: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/Umbilical Winches.jpg

Figure 2: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/Umbilical01.jpg

Figure 3: http://www.nautilusminerals.com/i/photos/umbilical.jpg

An animation of how the seafloor production system works can be viewed on the Company's website: www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Investors-MediaCoverage.asp

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 installation of the umbilical cable in the winches, the completion thereof, the integration of the umbilical winches on the production support vessel and plans for commencement of mining in 2018. 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. Key risks include the risk that the Company will be unable to obtain the necessary funding to complete the seafloor production system and place the Solwara 1 project into production on the planned timeline or at all; and delays in the completion of the seafloor production system caused by equipment failures, breakdowns, accidents or other external events including the actions of contractors or other third parties. 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. 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).