Nautilus: Project in steady progress

NAUTILUS Minerals Inc continued to make steady progress in the development of its pioneering seafloor copper-gold project, in the September quarter of this year, and remains on track to begin production in the final quarter of 2013
The company completed the quarter with a cash balance of US$155.1 million, after successfully raising C$70.5 million in the first tranche of a C$98.1 million capital raising.
The final tranche of C$27.6 million was received last month.
The capital raising involved the issue of approximately 39 million shares at C$2.52 per share.
The funds raised were being used for the construction of a seafloor resource production system, which initially will be deployed at the Solwara 1 project in the Bismarck Sea off New Ireland province – the company’s first deepwater copper and gold project.
As a result of the successful financing, the board of Nautilus formally sanctioned the Solwara 1 project.
“During the quarter, we continued to work with the PNG government and Petromin to finalise contracts and financing arrangements for its 30% holding in the Solwara 1 project,” according to Nautilus chief executive Steve Rogers. 
Project development gathered pace during the quarter, leading to an increase in investment.
Net cash invested for the nine months to the end of September totalled US$56.6 million, compared with US$36.4 million at the end of June, with the increase mainly due to purchase of plant and equipment.
The loss for the period was US$11.4 million, reflecting the fact that the company remained in the development phase, and had not yet began revenue-generating operations, the company said.
In exploration, Nautilus continued to analyse the results of its Bismarck Sea drilling campaign completed in May, and to update the company’s NI43-101 resource through an independent report in preparation by Golder and Associates by year end.
The drill programme was expected to lead to a significantly enhanced understanding of Solwara 1 geology.