Tiny Company Prepares to Introduce World to... "Gold Sands"
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Tiny Company Prepares to Introduce World to... "Gold Sands"
Admin Thu Jul 08, 2010 2:22 pm
To get started, let's try to figure out the name of the company without having to pay $3,000 a year to FirstPhase Investing.
A small, publicly traded micro-cap has stumbled onto the discovery of a lifetime: A radically different kind of gold deposit – in a very unusual location – with samples 7-times more concentrated than the average gold mine. If all goes as we expect, the sky's the limit for this company's share price.
At Stansberry & Associates, we've assembled a team of experts to study this opportunity, and on July 12th, 2010, we're hosting an emergency call to present our findings. You've been pre-selected to participate.
Dear S&A Subscriber,
We're received report of a major gold discovery... in a location you'd never guess in a thousand years...
If this gold were buried underneath the Washington Monument... or the Sears Tower, it would probably be less surprising...
But the fact is, after 10 years of investing and writing about finance, I've never heard or seen anything like it.
And I'm not the only one...
"Geologically... this is definitely the best prospect I've ever seen..." said Dr. Charles Morgan, a geochemist and former project manager for the U.S. Department of Interior.
"The gold content is incredibly high," Dr. Steven Scott, professor emeritus of geology at the University of Toronto, said in an interview. "It is exceptional."
"These are very, very high contents of valuable metals," said CSIRO scientist, Dr. Ray Binns.
Just how much gold are we talking about?
According to one Pulitzer-prize winning science author and journalist, the estimated value "is up to billions of dollars."
At just one billion dollars, that would make the deposit worth more than 4-times the value of the tiny company that discovered it.
At several billion dollars, that would make this stock a ten-bagger. Not to mention the hype – once this discovery hits the papers – could push the stock up 5-10 times as much.
But here's where this opportunity really gets interesting...
For one, this discovery is located in one of the most unusual places on Earth. When I tell you where it is, I'm sure you will be surprised—it's a place no man has ever stepped foot.
The other interesting thing about this situation is that several of the largest gold and resource companies and investors in the world have quietly been building positions in this tiny firm../ including a powerful billionaire metals-and-technology investor who has invested in Facebook, Gazprom... and whose last stake in a small resources company shot up as much as 910%.
It's just a matter of time before these guys tap this gold and mineral treasure trove.
In fact, we think this could happen very soon. We plan to reveal the details... and discuss everything you need to know about this opportunity when we host a meeting on July 12th.
The good news is you still have time to build a position. But only if you act fast...
Let's dive right into the details...
"...the richest ores ever."
~WJ Broad, Pulitzer Prize winning science journalist
Because of its unusual location and unusually high gold content... we're calling this discovery "Gold Sands."
What's so special about it?
Well, for starters, 'Gold Sands' are super concentrated,"...and can be more than an order of magnitude richer" than regular gold mines, according to a study published in Nature.
To give you a better idea...
* The average global gold mine has about 1 to 3 grams of gold... per ton of ore.
* Australian mines runs a bit higher: at 3 to 4 grams of gold per ton.
* South African gold mines are typically the most concentrated in the world, with an average of 7 grams of gold per ton.
The recent "Gold Sands" discovery could very well be much richer than all of them...
How much, exactly?
Preliminary samples from one site had an average concentration of 15 grams per ton.
That's 7-times richer than the average producing mine... and more than twice as rich as the richest gold mines in the world!
In fact, the highest-grade sample they've seen so far has been as high as 39 grams per ton—more than 5 times richer than the world's richest mines.
Keep in mind, we're just talking about exploratory samples... not the entire proven reserves. We won't know precisely the grade and quantity until full-scale production begins.
But even if it's half as rich as what some of their samples suggest...
That would still make this one of the most concentrated gold deposits in the world!
How's this possible?
Well, have you ever wondered how – despite such primitive tools – ancient civilizations could manage to build entire towns out of precious metals that would cost a fortune today...?
Thousands of years ago, there were dozens of super rich "Gold Sands" deposits like this one, scattered across the world...
In Ancient Rome, Spain, Persia, Greece, Cyprus, parts of Africa and Egypt...
Deposits so concentrated, you could literally reach down and pick up rocks laced with gold and other rare metals. No drills or 3-D seismic technology required.
Of course, most "Gold Sands" mines were picked clean many hundreds of years ago...
But just imagine if someone came across a new, untapped "Gold Sands" deposit today...
With gold, silver and other metal prices regularly hitting new all-time highs...
How much do you think a find like that would be worth?
Well, that's essentially the situation we have before us today.
Let me explain...
"The potential bounty seems endless..."
~Far Eastern Economic Review
In recent years, gold mining companies have gone to the far reaches of the globe, looking for the next big deposit...
Gold companies are exploring and mining the Andean region of Southern Peru, the Bougouni Region of Mali in West Africa, Indonesia's Sangir Islands (the site of a former volcano), Zimbabwe, the snake-infested corners of Northern Tajikistan... underneath the paved streets and homes of Tambo Grande...17,000 feet up in the Andes... beneath sheets of artic ice... at the bottom of the Ottawa River...
For their efforts, these companies have been richly rewarded...
* Acero-Martin Exploration has jumped 2,250% in less than a year.
* Medoro Resources has risen as much as 2,833% in about 9 months.
* East Asia Minerals Corp has jumped as much as 5,566% in about 18 months.
* New Dawn Mining has risen as much as 3,266% in less than a year.
The recent "Gold Sands" discovery sets an entirely new precedent.
So, where is it? Where is all of this gold buried?
Here are a few hints:
There's no traditional mining infrastructure needed.
There's sand everywhere.
And it's 1,650 meters below sea level.
That's right, it's underwater!
"This has always been out in the future somewhere," said Dr. Sylvia Earle, a prominent marine biologist and deep sea explorer. "Now it's here."
About a mile below the Pacific Ocean, in a region called Melanesia...
There's an incredible amount of gold and other rare metals such as silver, copper and zinc.
Billions of dollars worth.
And one tiny company may soon have the rights to mine and produce it.
Sounds a little crazy, I know...
But actually it's not far-fetched at all...when you consider the geology of how gold mines work.
You see, most of the world's richest gold deposits were underwater at one time... typically thousands of feet beneath the ocean.
The amazingly rich mines of Ancient Cyprus... Eastern Egypt's gold and silver mines... Kid Creek in Canada... Rio Tinto, and BHP Billiton's original cash cow – Broken Hill...
They all started out in the ocean, along hot cracks in the ocean's floor called "volcanic vents."
Just picture an underwater geyser...
But instead of erupting every so often... it's constantly belching out superheated water.
This water is freakishly hot...
Hot enough to melt lead (roughly 700 degrees). Also, because it's coming from inside the earth's crust, it's packed full of minerals.
Just look at what the industry experts are saying:
"If you found this deposit on dry land, you'd call these bonanza figures," said Dr. Ray Binns, a scientist at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.
These deposits "are the richest find in the world, containing several times as much gold... as the richest deposits in Western Australia or South America," according to American Metals Market.
When the volcano-hot water from these oceanic geysers mixes with the cool ocean water, they form big, sandy stacks of gold, silver, copper and other metals.
Some of these stacks of metallic ore have grown as tall as 15-story buildings. And, as I mentioned earlier, they're highly concentrated with rare metals. Much more so than typical deposits.
Over thousands of years of plate shifting, geological forces have pushed some of these "Gold Sands" onto dry land...
Where they eventually became some of the richest and most famous mines in history.
But others are still down there.
And rather than wait thousands of years for the earth to shift and elevate these deposits above sea level...
Today, some smart and well-funded geologists are seeking out these deposits directly...
Which brings us back to the tiny company we've found... and the massive deposit they're preparing to tap.
If you've ever considered investing a small amount of capital into a well-calculated speculation, then you'll want to keep reading.
There's potentially a lot of money at stake...
When they tap these Sands...
The tiny company we've found has been quietly planning an operation to tap this underwater gold for a while now...
They're in the final stages. It's only a matter of time...
But you can't just load some scuba gear and shovels into a barge and hope to bring home a boatload of gold.
We're talking a mile below the Pacific Ocean. Sandy rocks that weigh tons. Strong currents. Barges. Slurry pipes.
That's why this tiny "Gold Sands" firm has been systematically implementing a methodical, and time-consuming plan.
First, they commissioned international consultants Worley Parsons Engineering to undertake a nine-month study to check out the risks and costs.
"Twenty years ago, most mining companies didn't want to hear about this possibility. They thought it was too difficult. But now some are seeing that it's a lot easier to go down through a couple of thousand meters of water than through a couple of thousand meters of rock."
~Dr. Steven Scott; Director of the Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory and the Norman B. Keevil Professor of Ore Genesis at the University of Toronto
The conclusion?
Not only was it do-able... it would be only about half as expensive as doing the same thing on land.
Why?
Because, according to the company, you don't need to build a mine every time you want to drill a new "Gold Sands" site. All you do is move your equipment to the next spot.
And because the technology for underwater drilling already exists...
They don't have to sink millions into creating new technology.
The point is, they're not reinventing the wheel.
They're simply taking it on a new trip.
Finally, there was one big piece missing...
And here's where this opportunity gets really exciting...
Powerful, Silent Partners
Typically, the hardest task for any small and ambitious exploration company is to find someone to fund their venture...
In this case, the exact opposite was true...
Not only did this tiny "Gold Sands" firm get the seed money it needed...
They got it from several highly impressive sources...
In fact, if I had any lingering doubt about this opportunity, it went away the moment I saw who was backing this little firm...
FOUR (4) of the world's largest resource giants have quietly taken stakes in this tiny "Gold Sands" company...
It's not uncommon to see huge, well-established companies like Barrick, AngloGold, and Newmont investing in small resource start-ups...
They often speculate in small mining interests for the same reason you and I might.
But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that these guys have a lot more expertise at their disposal than you or I could ever hope to have...
So to actually see several of the largest companies together, investing in the same company... is pretty rare, and very exciting.
After all, these guys are competitors – they're after the same finite pools of resources.
It must be pretty valuable and legitimate for them to share.
I won't name names...
But I will say that one of these companies is the world's largest gold producer by several measures of size.
Another thing...
One of these backers – an international metals firm – is owned by one of the richest and most influential investors in the world.
Again, I won't name names...
But everything this fellow touches seems to make money.
He's taken two large stakes in Facebook, bought up a slew of tiny Silicon Valley upstarts... has been an investor in Gazprom, which has risen as much as 1,526% since 2001... as well as a small Australian based mining company, which has seen its share price rise more than 900% since he came onboard.
And that's just based on the publicly available documents we could get our hands on...
My point is, you don't amass a $12 billion fortune unless you have a knack for picking winners. We like that this guy is onboard.
And we like it even better that several of the best and biggest gold producing companies in the world are taking a significant investment stake as well.
Add to that the fact that we're talking about an area that has produced incredible preliminary samples, that potentially holds some of the richest gold ore the world has seen in over a thousand years...
Then, well, you've got an extremely rare and valuable opportunity...
"Why isn't this all over the news?"
By now, perhaps you're wondering...
If this is such a big story and an amazing opportunity – then why haven't we heard about it by now?
There are several reasons...
For starters, this company is very, very small. I can almost guarantee you haven't heard about it.
Second, this discovery took place far, far away—more than 5,000 miles from New York City. In a remote area of the world the Western press almost never reports on.
On top of that, it's underwater – several thousand feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean – a place no one ever looks for gold.
So when this very small company announced an unorthodox gold discovery in the middle of nowhere...
No one paid them much attention.
The stocks Barron's and Fortune care about are the ones most Americans already own...
Why?
Because those are the ones that sell subscriptions.
Typically, the only time you'll hear about a tiny company like this from a big, mainstream Western publication is after the fact—after it's gone up thousands of percentage points.
Which begs the question...
How much money could this tiny "Gold Sands" company generate?
Let me show you...
A 29,000% return—will it
happen again?
How much money could you make from this 'Gold Sands' opportunity, exactly?
Well, there's no way of telling with any certainty. After all, this is a calculated speculation... with no pure precedent.
You see, while no company has gone underwater to extract gold before... at least to our knowledge...
There have been "Gold Sands" deposits on land. Most of these, as I mentioned earlier, were picked cleaned hundreds of years ago – before modern stock markets... and record keeping.
But there were a few land-based 'Gold Sands' deposits that were harder to discover...
And were therefore found much later.
Just take a look at what happened to a company called Stikine Resources...
In 1988, this tiny Vancouver firm owned the rights to mine a "Gold Sands" deposit called Eskay Creek.
It was located in the Unuk and Iskut River region on north coastal mountains of British Columbia... 600 miles from Vancouver.
In other words, it was in the middle of nowhere. It actually would have been much easier to mine had the deposit been a mile underwater.
What made it a "Gold Sands" deposit?
Two things...
1) Just like the underwater Gold Sands deposit I've been describing, the ore in this case was extraordinarily high grade. It contained roughly 15 grams of gold per ton of rock, (twice as concentrated as South Africa's richest gold mines)
and...
2) Every "Gold Sands" deposit has a unique geophysical signature... based on the type of sediment it contains. You could think of it as a genotype, or a fingerprint. The Eskay deposit had the 'Gold Sands' signature – the same signature as the underwater deposit we've been writing about.
In 1988, Stikine's stock was trading for as little as 25 cents per share.
By the time the Wall Street Journal reported on this company for the first (and only) time in 1990, Stikine's share price had already risen to as high as $73.
If you like to think in terms of percentages... that's about a 29,100% gain. Or 291 to 1.
At that rate, a simple $5,000 stake would have returned $1,455,000. In less than two years!
Could the same thing happen to our underwater 'Gold Sands' firm?
Probably not, exactly...
That's a pretty absurd rate of return. The company we found is starting at a slightly higher share price....
But otherwise, if this had been underwater, the stories could be identical. The amount of gold in the ground was roughly the same too...
Stikine Resources had about $1.76 billion in gold. The company we're targeting has at least a billion dollars worth... and could have "multiple billions," as they explore more sites.
Either way, it's a whole heck of a lot for a firm worth less than $250 million.
In fact, strictly looking at the numbers...
If there's as much gold down there as preliminary samples suggest, then this tiny stock could end up jumping 500%-1,000% in a relatively short period of time.
Finally, and here's the kicker...
In 1991, a major Gold company ended up buying a stake in Stikine Resources. Its backing is one of the main reasons this company ended up rising 29,100%.
Well, an even bigger firm bought out that company a few years later – the same major firm (one of the four I mentioned earlier) that's taken a stake in our 'Gold Sands' company... nearly 20 years later.
However...
It's worth noting...
There's always the possibility that something else happens...
A partner could pull out. Equipment could prove ineffective. A rogue wave could come out of nowhere and blast the whole operation to smithereens.
Any time you are talking about the mining business... there are hundreds of things that can possibly go wrong.
Plus, remember we're talking the high seas here...
A mile below the surface. Tons of sandy sediment. This has never been done before...
But that's the whole point: If this uncertainty didn't exist – if there weren't a certain level of risk – then the reward wouldn't be so potentially sky high.
So, how much time do you have, exactly?
And how do you take advantage of the situation....
Let me explain...
A Rapidly Closing Window of Opportunity
How quickly should you take advantage of this opportunity?
Well, the biggest gold and mineral companies in the world have already gotten a head-start...
They've taken their positions...
Now they're just waiting and watching for production to begin.
Okay then, so when will production begin?
Well, production can only start after this company has received its final mining permit.
You see, because this deposit lies within 200 miles of a country's borders... it's technically owned by that nation.
I won't say which one... only that it's a Pacific nation, very friendly to resource interests.
For that reason, this company must secure two permits, before getting started.
They've already been awarded the first – the Environmental Permit. Next they are waiting for final word on the Mining Permit.
We believe this is simply a formality, especially since the Environmental Permit has already been awarded...and is typically the hardest hurdle for any mining company to clear.
As MB – a geologist and one of our close contacts in the resource industry – told us, "One of the largest hurdles, especially in this case, is the environmental permit. Once the company gets that, there shouldn't be any barriers to the mining permit and eventually mining."
In exchange for mining permits, this host country will get a small but reasonable percentage of any gold brought to shore.
As I said, this company has already gotten the toughest clearance – they received an environmental permit in January. The company had to prove to the nation and environmental groups that their footprint would be small and relatively harmless.
Now they're just waiting to hear back from the Government about the piece of paper that'll give them the green light to dig up the 'Gold Sands.' This could happen any day now.
In fact, we just got off the phone with the VP of Operations...
He says the decision on this permit could come as early as tomorrow. Or it could take a month or more. But the bottom line is, there's not much time left to take a stake, if you want to see the largest potential gains.
Remember, one of the reasons the potential gains are so high right now is because there is still uncertainty in the market.
If all goes as planned, when this company starts production, I truly believe the biggest gains will be long gone.
In other words, if you are interested, the time to get in is now.
This operation is on an accelerated timeline, for sure.
That's why we're hosting an emergency meeting to present our findings... and finalize our due diligence.
We've handpicked a small group of individuals to join us, including you, if you're interested...
Here are the details...
On Monday, July 12th...
On Monday, July 12th, we're hosting an emergency conference call...
The topic? The tiny "Gold Sands" firm I've been telling you about...
We'll review its plans to mine over a billion dollars worth of what could be some of the richest gold ore found anywhere in the past two decades.
We'll go over everything we know: the timeline... the potential risks, rewards, and, of course, the identity of this little company, which we believe could make early shareholders an absolute fortune.
Joining us on the call will be a high ranking executive from the "Gold Sands" firm. I won't give his title here. But he knows all the minutia of this company's operations in the Pacific Ocean.
Everyone knows that company insiders only say positive things about their own company. After all, most of these guys have equity stakes in their business. It's in their best interest to cheer for their own company... and give the best possible version of the truth.
For that reason, we've also invited two independent resource experts to participate...
These guys have nothing else on the line, other than their own solid reputations as independent experts. It'll be their job to ask the tough questions... and to make sure this company is the real deal, which we believe it to be.
One of these experts has made more money than anyone I know in the natural resources sector. He's a good friend of our firm... and the individual we turn to whenever we have any particularly vexing questions about precious metals or energy.
He's done resource banking deals since the early 80s... and is on a first name basis with most mining executives.
The other expert joining us will be the geologist who initially tipped us off to the find. He does a lot of fieldwork for us... traveling to remote regions of the world in search of new and promising resource opportunities.
His last big trip took him to a tiny country in the South East Pacific, where he stumbled across this "Gold Sands" discovery... and the tiny firm preparing to tap it.
It was actually a serendipitous find...
Initially, he traveled there to investigate a record-breaking natural gas discovery, when he learned of a company 200 miles off the coast, attempting to blaze a new trail in gold production.
On July 12th, these gentlemen will be on the phone with us... and subscribers to our most exclusive research service, called Phase 1 Investor, will be listening in as well.
Today, we're also inviting you and a small group of new candidates to join us.
Why are we doing this... and what is Phase 1?
Let me explain...
Why We've Spent Over a Million Dollars
My name is Brian Hunt. I'm the Editor in Chief at Stansberry & Associates Investment Research.
Of the 16 independent research advisories and services we publish, Phase 1 Investor is by far the most exclusive... as well as the most costly to produce.
In Phase 1, we target only the smallest and most potentially explosive opportunities—tiny, early-stage businesses with "big ideas" that can change the face of business... and potentially grow 500%-1,000% or more in the process.
If you look at the highest returning stocks each year, they fit those two criteria: they're super small... and they're capitalizing on "tipping point" ideas.
Take Clean Energy and Power (KEPI), for example. It's a ridiculously small company that's found a unique way to get paid on the boom in solar energy. Shares have risen more than 3,900% in the past year.
Or consider Netlist, another tiny company...
Recently, they invented the world's first "16GB data center server memory module"—a niche technology it's been selling to big computer firms like Dell. As a result, shares have shot up by as much as 2,560%.
In Phase 1, we only discriminate on the basis of size (the smaller, the better)... and quality of their 'big idea'...whether it's a breakthrough in genomics... a new electronics technology...
Take, for example, a tiny biotech company called PROLOR Biotech (PBTH), which has made new breakthroughs in protein drug technologies for treating MS and obesity. In the past year, shares have jumped as much as 1,080%.
Or just consider the 'Gold Sands' firm we've found...
It's very small. And they're capitalizing on a huge trend (the gold bull market)... in a way that no one has ever done before.
So, how do you do this? How do you find tiny companies with the next "big idea?"
You can't just surf the Internet...or scan the Wall Street Journal.
You have to do some serious digging and due diligence.
In fact, between air miles logged (over 100 company visits and 3 dozen trips to academic institutions such as MIT and Harvard Medical School), technology and medical conferences, high-priced consultants and highly educated on-staff experts...
We've spent well over a million dollars tracking down the best small cap ideas.
You see, because the charters of most large financial institutions legally prevent them from investing in the market's smallest stocks, there's very little information published about these companies.
That's why – to really make a fortune in small, cutting edge companies – you need an on-the-ground insider's perspective.
You need to speak with the scientists, miners, the programmers, and engineers...
You need to grill the fast-talking CEO's and collect feedback from whistle-blowing executives and informants.
*If you recognize the name, I'm not surprised...
"I grew up in this business," Frank said.
Frank's father – the late Frank Curzio, Sr. – was a well-known money manager and newsletter writer in New York for 25 years, who appeared in regular guest spots on NBC Dateline and CNBC.
Frank took over the family business, managing a small cap fund and writing his father's letter.
Eventually, Frank left the business to his brother and went to work for a well-known hedge fund manager, where he was responsible for finding small stocks...
After spending his entire professional career in the financial world... and growing up in it too...
Frank is... well, connected. As Frank put it:
"I grew up in this business. I know a lot of guys in a lot of industries. The secret to my success – especially with small stocks no one has ever heard about – is having that information edge."
Another thing we really like about Frank is he rarely takes losses. In 2009, not a single one of his recommendations was closed at a loss.
That's why we recruited *Frank Curzio – one of the top researchers in the country – to run Phase 1 Investor.
Frank is a small cap specialist—a former hedge fund analyst and money manager who's spent 15 years in finance before taking the reigns of Phase 1.
After spending his entire professional career in the financial world... and growing up in it too (his father was a well-known newsletter writer and fund manager)...
Frank Curzio has the connections and clout to get these folks on the phone... and to get them talking.
That's how we learned about this tiny 'Gold Sands' company...
One of Frank's contacts – a field geologist – alerted him.
And that's how Frank was able to quickly arrange the players for the emergency call we're hosting on Monday, July 12th...
To my knowledge, there's nothing else like Phase 1 Investor available anywhere.
These are the kinds of investment opportunities that could literally change your life—where an investment of $10,000 could quickly turn into enough to buy a new beach house... or pay for several kids' college education... or allow you to quit work, forever.
But it happens all the time—you just have to know about the right company at the right time. That's the whole purpose of Phase 1 Investor.
How much does one year of Phase 1 Investor research cost...?
Can you really make $4 million or
more with this research?
(Believe it or not, it's happened!)
One year of Phase 1 Investor research is not cheap.
We charge a lot of money for this service for two reasons:
1) It's time-and-labor intensive work. As I mentioned earlier, since inception we've spent more than $1 million on producing this research. Roughly $250,000 this year alone.
2) A high price tag helps to keep this group small. I know this probably seems contrary to our business interests, but we don't want a lot of people piling into Phase 1.
Why?
Because we're dealing with the smallest and most illiquid securities in the market. If too many people try to get in on these deals, the share price goes through the roof, and the opportunity is lost.
That said, I believe Phase 1 Investor is an incredible bargain, considering the amount of time and money that goes into each recommendation... and considering the returns these recommendations often generate.
Consider, Phase 1 subscriber Jack Miligan, who wrote to tell us he was up $32,487:
"I've subscribed to many research advisories in past 30 years and Phase 1 is by far best in my judgment," Jack writes.
In just 3 weeks, subscriber Don Elfman generated enough to "pay for a bathroom remodel!"
And – get this – subscriber Albert Griffin made over 4 million dollars! He got in on a recommendation (IDBE) that was originally featured in Phase 1 and later featured in one of our other letters.
Granted, it happened over the course of about 2 years...
But still, that's incredible!
I've seen boutique Wall Street firms like Ned Davis charge as much as $25,000 for a single report. Heck, even competitors of ours are currently offering lesser services for as much as $34,000.
One full year of Phase 1 Investor research typically costs $5,000.
If that seems like a small fortune to you, then you probably have no business signing up for this research.
Seasoned investors know that quality investment research does not come cheap.
Would you spend $5,000 if you knew it could pay $100,000 in return?
Phase 1 Investor is designed for a very small group of aggressive but prudent readers who want the opportunity to make serious money, but can stomach the bumpy ride that can lead to major returns.
If that's you, then let me show you what to do to get started... and what you get as a new member...
For the next few days only—pay $2,000 less
(See bottom of page for details...)
If you're interested in trying Phase 1 Investor, then here's what I recommend you do...
Sign up for Phase 1 Investor ASAP. This will guarantee your spot to listen in on the July 12th call. Remember, we're only making this offer available until the conference call on the 12th.
You'll get to hear everything you need to know about this opportunity... including what our outside experts have to say.
Within 30 minutes of signing up, you'll also receive access to our password-protected, subscribers-only Phase 1 website, where you'll be able to find recent reports and briefings...
We encourage you to read these reports over. Many of the recommendations are still considered major "buys." (Make sure you check out the current recommended portfolio for more details.)
There's a link to an order form at the very bottom of this page.
But there's one more thing you should know before signing up...
Several Days before the Call...
As I mentioned, we're hosting an emergency meeting on July 12th to reveal our findings and complete our due diligence on this 'Gold Sands' opportunity...
We would have held this meeting earlier...
But that's the earliest all parties could participate at the same time.
However...
We are publishing a Phase 1 Investor report on this 'Gold Sands' opportunity several days BEFORE the call.
On Thursday, July 8th, to be exact.
It's called "GOLD SANDS": The Secret to Making 1,000%+ from the World's Richest Gold Deposit. You'll have immediate access to it when we post it to the subscribers-only website, provided you're a subscriber and become a member of Phase 1. It'll be alongside the other research reports we publish each month.
By subscribing today, you'll receive the subscribers-only login and password... and will be able to access this research, the moment we publish it.
We encourage you to read this report RIGHT AWAY – before the call.
After doing so, you'll know 95% of what you need to know about this 'Gold Sands' story...
Subscribe TODAY, and you'll...
1) Guarantee your spot to listen in on the July 12 conference call.
2) Receive a copy of "GOLD SANDS": The Secret to Making 1,000%+ from the World's Richest Gold Deposit, which we'll distribute on July 8th, several days before the conference call.
3) Be granted access to our exclusive, password-protected Phase 1 Investor website, where you'll find the entire archive of our research.
4) Get a new Phase 1 Investor research report every single month for the next year – that's a dozen of our most exclusive ideas... twelve opportunities to make a fortune in 2010-11.
The name of the company... how many shares to consider buying... when and how far we think this stock could rise, exactly...
The rest will be revealed on the July 12 conference call. We'll send you the details, including the phone number, exact time, and password to listen in on the call after you start your Phase 1 subscription.
Of course, you'll also receive a new Phase 1 Investor research briefing every month for the duration of your subscription...
Got it?
One more thing...
When you give Phase 1 Investor a try, you'll have three months to decide if this service is right for you. It's certainly not right for everyone. That should give you plenty of time to see how our recommendations perform.
If you decide Phase 1 is not for you, let us know within the next 3 months. We'll give you a full refund, minus a 10% fee. We've instituted this policy to deter folks from signing up just to get the research reports, then immediately canceling. Believe it or not, people do this.
If you cancel after your 3-month trial period ends, we'll give you a prorated refund based on the time left in your subscription.
If you have risk capital set aside, and are interested in the chance to make some serious money in 2010, then sign up for Phase 1 Investor today.
You'll get the full details on the "Gold Sands" company, guarantee your spot on the July 12 conference call, and have the opportunity to get in BEFORE this tiny firm begins production.
This could be the biggest opportunity we've seen anywhere in the history of our business. The potential upside is ridiculously high—you could, if things go the way we think they might, make a fortune.
If you're a serious investor... who enjoys speculating with a small part of your portfolio... and can afford to take risks that could pay off huge...
Then this opportunity is no-brainer.
To get started, let's try to figure out the name of the company without having to pay $3,000 a year to FirstPhase Investing.
Good investing,
Brian Hunt
Editor in Chief, S&A Research
July 2010
P.S. To see how you can save $2,000 off the cost of a Phase 1 Investor subscription, see the order form for more details.[i]
A small, publicly traded micro-cap has stumbled onto the discovery of a lifetime: A radically different kind of gold deposit – in a very unusual location – with samples 7-times more concentrated than the average gold mine. If all goes as we expect, the sky's the limit for this company's share price.
At Stansberry & Associates, we've assembled a team of experts to study this opportunity, and on July 12th, 2010, we're hosting an emergency call to present our findings. You've been pre-selected to participate.
Dear S&A Subscriber,
We're received report of a major gold discovery... in a location you'd never guess in a thousand years...
If this gold were buried underneath the Washington Monument... or the Sears Tower, it would probably be less surprising...
But the fact is, after 10 years of investing and writing about finance, I've never heard or seen anything like it.
And I'm not the only one...
"Geologically... this is definitely the best prospect I've ever seen..." said Dr. Charles Morgan, a geochemist and former project manager for the U.S. Department of Interior.
"The gold content is incredibly high," Dr. Steven Scott, professor emeritus of geology at the University of Toronto, said in an interview. "It is exceptional."
"These are very, very high contents of valuable metals," said CSIRO scientist, Dr. Ray Binns.
Just how much gold are we talking about?
According to one Pulitzer-prize winning science author and journalist, the estimated value "is up to billions of dollars."
At just one billion dollars, that would make the deposit worth more than 4-times the value of the tiny company that discovered it.
At several billion dollars, that would make this stock a ten-bagger. Not to mention the hype – once this discovery hits the papers – could push the stock up 5-10 times as much.
But here's where this opportunity really gets interesting...
For one, this discovery is located in one of the most unusual places on Earth. When I tell you where it is, I'm sure you will be surprised—it's a place no man has ever stepped foot.
The other interesting thing about this situation is that several of the largest gold and resource companies and investors in the world have quietly been building positions in this tiny firm../ including a powerful billionaire metals-and-technology investor who has invested in Facebook, Gazprom... and whose last stake in a small resources company shot up as much as 910%.
It's just a matter of time before these guys tap this gold and mineral treasure trove.
In fact, we think this could happen very soon. We plan to reveal the details... and discuss everything you need to know about this opportunity when we host a meeting on July 12th.
The good news is you still have time to build a position. But only if you act fast...
Let's dive right into the details...
"...the richest ores ever."
~WJ Broad, Pulitzer Prize winning science journalist
Because of its unusual location and unusually high gold content... we're calling this discovery "Gold Sands."
What's so special about it?
Well, for starters, 'Gold Sands' are super concentrated,"...and can be more than an order of magnitude richer" than regular gold mines, according to a study published in Nature.
To give you a better idea...
* The average global gold mine has about 1 to 3 grams of gold... per ton of ore.
* Australian mines runs a bit higher: at 3 to 4 grams of gold per ton.
* South African gold mines are typically the most concentrated in the world, with an average of 7 grams of gold per ton.
The recent "Gold Sands" discovery could very well be much richer than all of them...
How much, exactly?
Preliminary samples from one site had an average concentration of 15 grams per ton.
That's 7-times richer than the average producing mine... and more than twice as rich as the richest gold mines in the world!
In fact, the highest-grade sample they've seen so far has been as high as 39 grams per ton—more than 5 times richer than the world's richest mines.
Keep in mind, we're just talking about exploratory samples... not the entire proven reserves. We won't know precisely the grade and quantity until full-scale production begins.
But even if it's half as rich as what some of their samples suggest...
That would still make this one of the most concentrated gold deposits in the world!
How's this possible?
Well, have you ever wondered how – despite such primitive tools – ancient civilizations could manage to build entire towns out of precious metals that would cost a fortune today...?
Thousands of years ago, there were dozens of super rich "Gold Sands" deposits like this one, scattered across the world...
In Ancient Rome, Spain, Persia, Greece, Cyprus, parts of Africa and Egypt...
Deposits so concentrated, you could literally reach down and pick up rocks laced with gold and other rare metals. No drills or 3-D seismic technology required.
Of course, most "Gold Sands" mines were picked clean many hundreds of years ago...
But just imagine if someone came across a new, untapped "Gold Sands" deposit today...
With gold, silver and other metal prices regularly hitting new all-time highs...
How much do you think a find like that would be worth?
Well, that's essentially the situation we have before us today.
Let me explain...
"The potential bounty seems endless..."
~Far Eastern Economic Review
In recent years, gold mining companies have gone to the far reaches of the globe, looking for the next big deposit...
Gold companies are exploring and mining the Andean region of Southern Peru, the Bougouni Region of Mali in West Africa, Indonesia's Sangir Islands (the site of a former volcano), Zimbabwe, the snake-infested corners of Northern Tajikistan... underneath the paved streets and homes of Tambo Grande...17,000 feet up in the Andes... beneath sheets of artic ice... at the bottom of the Ottawa River...
For their efforts, these companies have been richly rewarded...
* Acero-Martin Exploration has jumped 2,250% in less than a year.
* Medoro Resources has risen as much as 2,833% in about 9 months.
* East Asia Minerals Corp has jumped as much as 5,566% in about 18 months.
* New Dawn Mining has risen as much as 3,266% in less than a year.
The recent "Gold Sands" discovery sets an entirely new precedent.
So, where is it? Where is all of this gold buried?
Here are a few hints:
There's no traditional mining infrastructure needed.
There's sand everywhere.
And it's 1,650 meters below sea level.
That's right, it's underwater!
"This has always been out in the future somewhere," said Dr. Sylvia Earle, a prominent marine biologist and deep sea explorer. "Now it's here."
About a mile below the Pacific Ocean, in a region called Melanesia...
There's an incredible amount of gold and other rare metals such as silver, copper and zinc.
Billions of dollars worth.
And one tiny company may soon have the rights to mine and produce it.
Sounds a little crazy, I know...
But actually it's not far-fetched at all...when you consider the geology of how gold mines work.
You see, most of the world's richest gold deposits were underwater at one time... typically thousands of feet beneath the ocean.
The amazingly rich mines of Ancient Cyprus... Eastern Egypt's gold and silver mines... Kid Creek in Canada... Rio Tinto, and BHP Billiton's original cash cow – Broken Hill...
They all started out in the ocean, along hot cracks in the ocean's floor called "volcanic vents."
Just picture an underwater geyser...
But instead of erupting every so often... it's constantly belching out superheated water.
This water is freakishly hot...
Hot enough to melt lead (roughly 700 degrees). Also, because it's coming from inside the earth's crust, it's packed full of minerals.
Just look at what the industry experts are saying:
"If you found this deposit on dry land, you'd call these bonanza figures," said Dr. Ray Binns, a scientist at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.
These deposits "are the richest find in the world, containing several times as much gold... as the richest deposits in Western Australia or South America," according to American Metals Market.
When the volcano-hot water from these oceanic geysers mixes with the cool ocean water, they form big, sandy stacks of gold, silver, copper and other metals.
Some of these stacks of metallic ore have grown as tall as 15-story buildings. And, as I mentioned earlier, they're highly concentrated with rare metals. Much more so than typical deposits.
Over thousands of years of plate shifting, geological forces have pushed some of these "Gold Sands" onto dry land...
Where they eventually became some of the richest and most famous mines in history.
But others are still down there.
And rather than wait thousands of years for the earth to shift and elevate these deposits above sea level...
Today, some smart and well-funded geologists are seeking out these deposits directly...
Which brings us back to the tiny company we've found... and the massive deposit they're preparing to tap.
If you've ever considered investing a small amount of capital into a well-calculated speculation, then you'll want to keep reading.
There's potentially a lot of money at stake...
When they tap these Sands...
The tiny company we've found has been quietly planning an operation to tap this underwater gold for a while now...
They're in the final stages. It's only a matter of time...
But you can't just load some scuba gear and shovels into a barge and hope to bring home a boatload of gold.
We're talking a mile below the Pacific Ocean. Sandy rocks that weigh tons. Strong currents. Barges. Slurry pipes.
That's why this tiny "Gold Sands" firm has been systematically implementing a methodical, and time-consuming plan.
First, they commissioned international consultants Worley Parsons Engineering to undertake a nine-month study to check out the risks and costs.
"Twenty years ago, most mining companies didn't want to hear about this possibility. They thought it was too difficult. But now some are seeing that it's a lot easier to go down through a couple of thousand meters of water than through a couple of thousand meters of rock."
~Dr. Steven Scott; Director of the Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory and the Norman B. Keevil Professor of Ore Genesis at the University of Toronto
The conclusion?
Not only was it do-able... it would be only about half as expensive as doing the same thing on land.
Why?
Because, according to the company, you don't need to build a mine every time you want to drill a new "Gold Sands" site. All you do is move your equipment to the next spot.
And because the technology for underwater drilling already exists...
They don't have to sink millions into creating new technology.
The point is, they're not reinventing the wheel.
They're simply taking it on a new trip.
Finally, there was one big piece missing...
And here's where this opportunity gets really exciting...
Powerful, Silent Partners
Typically, the hardest task for any small and ambitious exploration company is to find someone to fund their venture...
In this case, the exact opposite was true...
Not only did this tiny "Gold Sands" firm get the seed money it needed...
They got it from several highly impressive sources...
In fact, if I had any lingering doubt about this opportunity, it went away the moment I saw who was backing this little firm...
FOUR (4) of the world's largest resource giants have quietly taken stakes in this tiny "Gold Sands" company...
It's not uncommon to see huge, well-established companies like Barrick, AngloGold, and Newmont investing in small resource start-ups...
They often speculate in small mining interests for the same reason you and I might.
But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that these guys have a lot more expertise at their disposal than you or I could ever hope to have...
So to actually see several of the largest companies together, investing in the same company... is pretty rare, and very exciting.
After all, these guys are competitors – they're after the same finite pools of resources.
It must be pretty valuable and legitimate for them to share.
I won't name names...
But I will say that one of these companies is the world's largest gold producer by several measures of size.
Another thing...
One of these backers – an international metals firm – is owned by one of the richest and most influential investors in the world.
Again, I won't name names...
But everything this fellow touches seems to make money.
He's taken two large stakes in Facebook, bought up a slew of tiny Silicon Valley upstarts... has been an investor in Gazprom, which has risen as much as 1,526% since 2001... as well as a small Australian based mining company, which has seen its share price rise more than 900% since he came onboard.
And that's just based on the publicly available documents we could get our hands on...
My point is, you don't amass a $12 billion fortune unless you have a knack for picking winners. We like that this guy is onboard.
And we like it even better that several of the best and biggest gold producing companies in the world are taking a significant investment stake as well.
Add to that the fact that we're talking about an area that has produced incredible preliminary samples, that potentially holds some of the richest gold ore the world has seen in over a thousand years...
Then, well, you've got an extremely rare and valuable opportunity...
"Why isn't this all over the news?"
By now, perhaps you're wondering...
If this is such a big story and an amazing opportunity – then why haven't we heard about it by now?
There are several reasons...
For starters, this company is very, very small. I can almost guarantee you haven't heard about it.
Second, this discovery took place far, far away—more than 5,000 miles from New York City. In a remote area of the world the Western press almost never reports on.
On top of that, it's underwater – several thousand feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean – a place no one ever looks for gold.
So when this very small company announced an unorthodox gold discovery in the middle of nowhere...
No one paid them much attention.
The stocks Barron's and Fortune care about are the ones most Americans already own...
Why?
Because those are the ones that sell subscriptions.
Typically, the only time you'll hear about a tiny company like this from a big, mainstream Western publication is after the fact—after it's gone up thousands of percentage points.
Which begs the question...
How much money could this tiny "Gold Sands" company generate?
Let me show you...
A 29,000% return—will it
happen again?
How much money could you make from this 'Gold Sands' opportunity, exactly?
Well, there's no way of telling with any certainty. After all, this is a calculated speculation... with no pure precedent.
You see, while no company has gone underwater to extract gold before... at least to our knowledge...
There have been "Gold Sands" deposits on land. Most of these, as I mentioned earlier, were picked cleaned hundreds of years ago – before modern stock markets... and record keeping.
But there were a few land-based 'Gold Sands' deposits that were harder to discover...
And were therefore found much later.
Just take a look at what happened to a company called Stikine Resources...
In 1988, this tiny Vancouver firm owned the rights to mine a "Gold Sands" deposit called Eskay Creek.
It was located in the Unuk and Iskut River region on north coastal mountains of British Columbia... 600 miles from Vancouver.
In other words, it was in the middle of nowhere. It actually would have been much easier to mine had the deposit been a mile underwater.
What made it a "Gold Sands" deposit?
Two things...
1) Just like the underwater Gold Sands deposit I've been describing, the ore in this case was extraordinarily high grade. It contained roughly 15 grams of gold per ton of rock, (twice as concentrated as South Africa's richest gold mines)
and...
2) Every "Gold Sands" deposit has a unique geophysical signature... based on the type of sediment it contains. You could think of it as a genotype, or a fingerprint. The Eskay deposit had the 'Gold Sands' signature – the same signature as the underwater deposit we've been writing about.
In 1988, Stikine's stock was trading for as little as 25 cents per share.
By the time the Wall Street Journal reported on this company for the first (and only) time in 1990, Stikine's share price had already risen to as high as $73.
If you like to think in terms of percentages... that's about a 29,100% gain. Or 291 to 1.
At that rate, a simple $5,000 stake would have returned $1,455,000. In less than two years!
Could the same thing happen to our underwater 'Gold Sands' firm?
Probably not, exactly...
That's a pretty absurd rate of return. The company we found is starting at a slightly higher share price....
But otherwise, if this had been underwater, the stories could be identical. The amount of gold in the ground was roughly the same too...
Stikine Resources had about $1.76 billion in gold. The company we're targeting has at least a billion dollars worth... and could have "multiple billions," as they explore more sites.
Either way, it's a whole heck of a lot for a firm worth less than $250 million.
In fact, strictly looking at the numbers...
If there's as much gold down there as preliminary samples suggest, then this tiny stock could end up jumping 500%-1,000% in a relatively short period of time.
Finally, and here's the kicker...
In 1991, a major Gold company ended up buying a stake in Stikine Resources. Its backing is one of the main reasons this company ended up rising 29,100%.
Well, an even bigger firm bought out that company a few years later – the same major firm (one of the four I mentioned earlier) that's taken a stake in our 'Gold Sands' company... nearly 20 years later.
However...
It's worth noting...
There's always the possibility that something else happens...
A partner could pull out. Equipment could prove ineffective. A rogue wave could come out of nowhere and blast the whole operation to smithereens.
Any time you are talking about the mining business... there are hundreds of things that can possibly go wrong.
Plus, remember we're talking the high seas here...
A mile below the surface. Tons of sandy sediment. This has never been done before...
But that's the whole point: If this uncertainty didn't exist – if there weren't a certain level of risk – then the reward wouldn't be so potentially sky high.
So, how much time do you have, exactly?
And how do you take advantage of the situation....
Let me explain...
A Rapidly Closing Window of Opportunity
How quickly should you take advantage of this opportunity?
Well, the biggest gold and mineral companies in the world have already gotten a head-start...
They've taken their positions...
Now they're just waiting and watching for production to begin.
Okay then, so when will production begin?
Well, production can only start after this company has received its final mining permit.
You see, because this deposit lies within 200 miles of a country's borders... it's technically owned by that nation.
I won't say which one... only that it's a Pacific nation, very friendly to resource interests.
For that reason, this company must secure two permits, before getting started.
They've already been awarded the first – the Environmental Permit. Next they are waiting for final word on the Mining Permit.
We believe this is simply a formality, especially since the Environmental Permit has already been awarded...and is typically the hardest hurdle for any mining company to clear.
As MB – a geologist and one of our close contacts in the resource industry – told us, "One of the largest hurdles, especially in this case, is the environmental permit. Once the company gets that, there shouldn't be any barriers to the mining permit and eventually mining."
In exchange for mining permits, this host country will get a small but reasonable percentage of any gold brought to shore.
As I said, this company has already gotten the toughest clearance – they received an environmental permit in January. The company had to prove to the nation and environmental groups that their footprint would be small and relatively harmless.
Now they're just waiting to hear back from the Government about the piece of paper that'll give them the green light to dig up the 'Gold Sands.' This could happen any day now.
In fact, we just got off the phone with the VP of Operations...
He says the decision on this permit could come as early as tomorrow. Or it could take a month or more. But the bottom line is, there's not much time left to take a stake, if you want to see the largest potential gains.
Remember, one of the reasons the potential gains are so high right now is because there is still uncertainty in the market.
If all goes as planned, when this company starts production, I truly believe the biggest gains will be long gone.
In other words, if you are interested, the time to get in is now.
This operation is on an accelerated timeline, for sure.
That's why we're hosting an emergency meeting to present our findings... and finalize our due diligence.
We've handpicked a small group of individuals to join us, including you, if you're interested...
Here are the details...
On Monday, July 12th...
On Monday, July 12th, we're hosting an emergency conference call...
The topic? The tiny "Gold Sands" firm I've been telling you about...
We'll review its plans to mine over a billion dollars worth of what could be some of the richest gold ore found anywhere in the past two decades.
We'll go over everything we know: the timeline... the potential risks, rewards, and, of course, the identity of this little company, which we believe could make early shareholders an absolute fortune.
Joining us on the call will be a high ranking executive from the "Gold Sands" firm. I won't give his title here. But he knows all the minutia of this company's operations in the Pacific Ocean.
Everyone knows that company insiders only say positive things about their own company. After all, most of these guys have equity stakes in their business. It's in their best interest to cheer for their own company... and give the best possible version of the truth.
For that reason, we've also invited two independent resource experts to participate...
These guys have nothing else on the line, other than their own solid reputations as independent experts. It'll be their job to ask the tough questions... and to make sure this company is the real deal, which we believe it to be.
One of these experts has made more money than anyone I know in the natural resources sector. He's a good friend of our firm... and the individual we turn to whenever we have any particularly vexing questions about precious metals or energy.
He's done resource banking deals since the early 80s... and is on a first name basis with most mining executives.
The other expert joining us will be the geologist who initially tipped us off to the find. He does a lot of fieldwork for us... traveling to remote regions of the world in search of new and promising resource opportunities.
His last big trip took him to a tiny country in the South East Pacific, where he stumbled across this "Gold Sands" discovery... and the tiny firm preparing to tap it.
It was actually a serendipitous find...
Initially, he traveled there to investigate a record-breaking natural gas discovery, when he learned of a company 200 miles off the coast, attempting to blaze a new trail in gold production.
On July 12th, these gentlemen will be on the phone with us... and subscribers to our most exclusive research service, called Phase 1 Investor, will be listening in as well.
Today, we're also inviting you and a small group of new candidates to join us.
Why are we doing this... and what is Phase 1?
Let me explain...
Why We've Spent Over a Million Dollars
My name is Brian Hunt. I'm the Editor in Chief at Stansberry & Associates Investment Research.
Of the 16 independent research advisories and services we publish, Phase 1 Investor is by far the most exclusive... as well as the most costly to produce.
In Phase 1, we target only the smallest and most potentially explosive opportunities—tiny, early-stage businesses with "big ideas" that can change the face of business... and potentially grow 500%-1,000% or more in the process.
If you look at the highest returning stocks each year, they fit those two criteria: they're super small... and they're capitalizing on "tipping point" ideas.
Take Clean Energy and Power (KEPI), for example. It's a ridiculously small company that's found a unique way to get paid on the boom in solar energy. Shares have risen more than 3,900% in the past year.
Or consider Netlist, another tiny company...
Recently, they invented the world's first "16GB data center server memory module"—a niche technology it's been selling to big computer firms like Dell. As a result, shares have shot up by as much as 2,560%.
In Phase 1, we only discriminate on the basis of size (the smaller, the better)... and quality of their 'big idea'...whether it's a breakthrough in genomics... a new electronics technology...
Take, for example, a tiny biotech company called PROLOR Biotech (PBTH), which has made new breakthroughs in protein drug technologies for treating MS and obesity. In the past year, shares have jumped as much as 1,080%.
Or just consider the 'Gold Sands' firm we've found...
It's very small. And they're capitalizing on a huge trend (the gold bull market)... in a way that no one has ever done before.
So, how do you do this? How do you find tiny companies with the next "big idea?"
You can't just surf the Internet...or scan the Wall Street Journal.
You have to do some serious digging and due diligence.
In fact, between air miles logged (over 100 company visits and 3 dozen trips to academic institutions such as MIT and Harvard Medical School), technology and medical conferences, high-priced consultants and highly educated on-staff experts...
We've spent well over a million dollars tracking down the best small cap ideas.
You see, because the charters of most large financial institutions legally prevent them from investing in the market's smallest stocks, there's very little information published about these companies.
That's why – to really make a fortune in small, cutting edge companies – you need an on-the-ground insider's perspective.
You need to speak with the scientists, miners, the programmers, and engineers...
You need to grill the fast-talking CEO's and collect feedback from whistle-blowing executives and informants.
*If you recognize the name, I'm not surprised...
"I grew up in this business," Frank said.
Frank's father – the late Frank Curzio, Sr. – was a well-known money manager and newsletter writer in New York for 25 years, who appeared in regular guest spots on NBC Dateline and CNBC.
Frank took over the family business, managing a small cap fund and writing his father's letter.
Eventually, Frank left the business to his brother and went to work for a well-known hedge fund manager, where he was responsible for finding small stocks...
After spending his entire professional career in the financial world... and growing up in it too...
Frank is... well, connected. As Frank put it:
"I grew up in this business. I know a lot of guys in a lot of industries. The secret to my success – especially with small stocks no one has ever heard about – is having that information edge."
Another thing we really like about Frank is he rarely takes losses. In 2009, not a single one of his recommendations was closed at a loss.
That's why we recruited *Frank Curzio – one of the top researchers in the country – to run Phase 1 Investor.
Frank is a small cap specialist—a former hedge fund analyst and money manager who's spent 15 years in finance before taking the reigns of Phase 1.
After spending his entire professional career in the financial world... and growing up in it too (his father was a well-known newsletter writer and fund manager)...
Frank Curzio has the connections and clout to get these folks on the phone... and to get them talking.
That's how we learned about this tiny 'Gold Sands' company...
One of Frank's contacts – a field geologist – alerted him.
And that's how Frank was able to quickly arrange the players for the emergency call we're hosting on Monday, July 12th...
To my knowledge, there's nothing else like Phase 1 Investor available anywhere.
These are the kinds of investment opportunities that could literally change your life—where an investment of $10,000 could quickly turn into enough to buy a new beach house... or pay for several kids' college education... or allow you to quit work, forever.
But it happens all the time—you just have to know about the right company at the right time. That's the whole purpose of Phase 1 Investor.
How much does one year of Phase 1 Investor research cost...?
Can you really make $4 million or
more with this research?
(Believe it or not, it's happened!)
One year of Phase 1 Investor research is not cheap.
We charge a lot of money for this service for two reasons:
1) It's time-and-labor intensive work. As I mentioned earlier, since inception we've spent more than $1 million on producing this research. Roughly $250,000 this year alone.
2) A high price tag helps to keep this group small. I know this probably seems contrary to our business interests, but we don't want a lot of people piling into Phase 1.
Why?
Because we're dealing with the smallest and most illiquid securities in the market. If too many people try to get in on these deals, the share price goes through the roof, and the opportunity is lost.
That said, I believe Phase 1 Investor is an incredible bargain, considering the amount of time and money that goes into each recommendation... and considering the returns these recommendations often generate.
Consider, Phase 1 subscriber Jack Miligan, who wrote to tell us he was up $32,487:
"I've subscribed to many research advisories in past 30 years and Phase 1 is by far best in my judgment," Jack writes.
In just 3 weeks, subscriber Don Elfman generated enough to "pay for a bathroom remodel!"
And – get this – subscriber Albert Griffin made over 4 million dollars! He got in on a recommendation (IDBE) that was originally featured in Phase 1 and later featured in one of our other letters.
Granted, it happened over the course of about 2 years...
But still, that's incredible!
I've seen boutique Wall Street firms like Ned Davis charge as much as $25,000 for a single report. Heck, even competitors of ours are currently offering lesser services for as much as $34,000.
One full year of Phase 1 Investor research typically costs $5,000.
If that seems like a small fortune to you, then you probably have no business signing up for this research.
Seasoned investors know that quality investment research does not come cheap.
Would you spend $5,000 if you knew it could pay $100,000 in return?
Phase 1 Investor is designed for a very small group of aggressive but prudent readers who want the opportunity to make serious money, but can stomach the bumpy ride that can lead to major returns.
If that's you, then let me show you what to do to get started... and what you get as a new member...
For the next few days only—pay $2,000 less
(See bottom of page for details...)
If you're interested in trying Phase 1 Investor, then here's what I recommend you do...
Sign up for Phase 1 Investor ASAP. This will guarantee your spot to listen in on the July 12th call. Remember, we're only making this offer available until the conference call on the 12th.
You'll get to hear everything you need to know about this opportunity... including what our outside experts have to say.
Within 30 minutes of signing up, you'll also receive access to our password-protected, subscribers-only Phase 1 website, where you'll be able to find recent reports and briefings...
We encourage you to read these reports over. Many of the recommendations are still considered major "buys." (Make sure you check out the current recommended portfolio for more details.)
There's a link to an order form at the very bottom of this page.
But there's one more thing you should know before signing up...
Several Days before the Call...
As I mentioned, we're hosting an emergency meeting on July 12th to reveal our findings and complete our due diligence on this 'Gold Sands' opportunity...
We would have held this meeting earlier...
But that's the earliest all parties could participate at the same time.
However...
We are publishing a Phase 1 Investor report on this 'Gold Sands' opportunity several days BEFORE the call.
On Thursday, July 8th, to be exact.
It's called "GOLD SANDS": The Secret to Making 1,000%+ from the World's Richest Gold Deposit. You'll have immediate access to it when we post it to the subscribers-only website, provided you're a subscriber and become a member of Phase 1. It'll be alongside the other research reports we publish each month.
By subscribing today, you'll receive the subscribers-only login and password... and will be able to access this research, the moment we publish it.
We encourage you to read this report RIGHT AWAY – before the call.
After doing so, you'll know 95% of what you need to know about this 'Gold Sands' story...
Subscribe TODAY, and you'll...
1) Guarantee your spot to listen in on the July 12 conference call.
2) Receive a copy of "GOLD SANDS": The Secret to Making 1,000%+ from the World's Richest Gold Deposit, which we'll distribute on July 8th, several days before the conference call.
3) Be granted access to our exclusive, password-protected Phase 1 Investor website, where you'll find the entire archive of our research.
4) Get a new Phase 1 Investor research report every single month for the next year – that's a dozen of our most exclusive ideas... twelve opportunities to make a fortune in 2010-11.
The name of the company... how many shares to consider buying... when and how far we think this stock could rise, exactly...
The rest will be revealed on the July 12 conference call. We'll send you the details, including the phone number, exact time, and password to listen in on the call after you start your Phase 1 subscription.
Of course, you'll also receive a new Phase 1 Investor research briefing every month for the duration of your subscription...
Got it?
One more thing...
When you give Phase 1 Investor a try, you'll have three months to decide if this service is right for you. It's certainly not right for everyone. That should give you plenty of time to see how our recommendations perform.
If you decide Phase 1 is not for you, let us know within the next 3 months. We'll give you a full refund, minus a 10% fee. We've instituted this policy to deter folks from signing up just to get the research reports, then immediately canceling. Believe it or not, people do this.
If you cancel after your 3-month trial period ends, we'll give you a prorated refund based on the time left in your subscription.
If you have risk capital set aside, and are interested in the chance to make some serious money in 2010, then sign up for Phase 1 Investor today.
You'll get the full details on the "Gold Sands" company, guarantee your spot on the July 12 conference call, and have the opportunity to get in BEFORE this tiny firm begins production.
This could be the biggest opportunity we've seen anywhere in the history of our business. The potential upside is ridiculously high—you could, if things go the way we think they might, make a fortune.
If you're a serious investor... who enjoys speculating with a small part of your portfolio... and can afford to take risks that could pay off huge...
Then this opportunity is no-brainer.
To get started, let's try to figure out the name of the company without having to pay $3,000 a year to FirstPhase Investing.
Good investing,
Brian Hunt
Editor in Chief, S&A Research
July 2010
P.S. To see how you can save $2,000 off the cost of a Phase 1 Investor subscription, see the order form for more details.[i]
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Company files for underwater gold mine
Admin Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:28 am
http://www.gold.org/news/2008/07/24/story/9824/company_files_for_underwater_gold_mine/
"The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.
Thursday, 24th July 2008 (5890 views)
A company has filed an application for a deep sea gold mining expedition off the coast of New Zealand, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Neptune Minerals lodged the application for the A$622 million (£300 million) operation with the country's Ministry of Economic Development.
The gold is apparently located 300 kilometres to the north of East Cape.
According to the website, the company proposes to pull up thousands of tonnes of gold from the ocean to be consolidated onshore before being delivered to a smelter.
Campbell McKenzie, manager of Neptune Minerals, told Fairfax Media, Stuff.co.nz's parent site, that: "The study we have done so far indicates the margins are good there ... and ... we certainly think we can make it a commercial proposition."
Mining will focus on two deposits on Rumble II, an inactive underwater volcano.
If the application is approved it will be the world's second deep sea mining operation.
Nautilus Minerals is the company who has the world's first underwater gold mine off the coast of Papua New Guinea."
"The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.
Thursday, 24th July 2008 (5890 views)
A company has filed an application for a deep sea gold mining expedition off the coast of New Zealand, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Neptune Minerals lodged the application for the A$622 million (£300 million) operation with the country's Ministry of Economic Development.
The gold is apparently located 300 kilometres to the north of East Cape.
According to the website, the company proposes to pull up thousands of tonnes of gold from the ocean to be consolidated onshore before being delivered to a smelter.
Campbell McKenzie, manager of Neptune Minerals, told Fairfax Media, Stuff.co.nz's parent site, that: "The study we have done so far indicates the margins are good there ... and ... we certainly think we can make it a commercial proposition."
Mining will focus on two deposits on Rumble II, an inactive underwater volcano.
If the application is approved it will be the world's second deep sea mining operation.
Nautilus Minerals is the company who has the world's first underwater gold mine off the coast of Papua New Guinea."
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The dawn of deep ocean mining
Admin Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:30 am
FROM: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/nsae-tdo021706.php
Public release date: 19-Feb-2006
[ Print Article | E-mail Article | Close Window ]
Contact: Steven Scott
scottsd@geology.utoronto.ca
416-978-5424
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
The dawn of deep ocean mining
We're on the brink of the era of deep ocean mining, says a global pioneer in the study of sea floor mineral deposits. Dr. Steven Scott, a geologist at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada says that advances in marine geology and deep ocean technology have combined to make it realistic to go more than two kilometres underwater for gold and other mineral treasures.
It's a transformation that he says has evoked a knee-jerk reaction over the possible environmental impacts of this mining, which he believes could be less destructive than terrestrial mining.
Presently, the world's first two neophyte marine mining companies, Nautilus Minerals and Neptune Minerals are actively exploring the possibility of mining deep sea floor deposits. Neptune is assessing deposits it holds the rights to in territorial waters off the north coast of New Zealand's North Island. Nautilus and its joint venture partner Placer Dome, a Canadian gold mining company, are collecting samples from a deposit to which Nautilus holds the rights in the Bismarck Sea off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea.
The big question for these companies is the economic potential of undersea deposits of polymetallic sulphides. These sulphur-rich sea floor ore bodies are produced worldwide in underwater volcanic regions by "black smokers." The black smokers are formed when seawater seeps into the porous sea bottom, is heated and re-emerges through vents carrying dissolved minerals. When the hot water hits the cold sea floor water, the minerals precipitate, creating chimney-like towers called black smokers. Over time, these towers collapse and accumulate to form ore deposits, some of which are rich in gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc.
Dr. Scott was the first mining geologist to explore black smokers. In 1982 he joined members of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the submersible Alvin to explore newly discovered black smokers 2,000 metres below the waves in the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico. He says that after more than two decades of promoting the possibility of mining the deposits created by black smokers, the launch of the present ventures is a move that's required mining companies to cross a watery psychological barrier.
"Twenty years ago, most mining companies didn't want to hear about this possibility. They thought it was too difficult. But now some are seeing that it's a lot easier to go down through a couple of thousand metres of water than through a couple of thousand metres of rock," says Dr. Scott, who is the Director of the Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory and the Norman B. Keevil Professor of Ore Genesis at the University of Toronto.
Presently the deepest undersea mines – diamond mines off the coast of southern Africa – are under just a few hundred metres of water. But Dr. Scott points to the offshore oil and gas industry as an example of the possibility for change. The international oil and gas industry went offshore starting in the mid-1940s. Today, about a third of the world's oil comes from under the sea. There are producing wells in 1,500 metres of water off the coast of Brazil, and there's drilling at 2,500 metres depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
The key challenge for new marine mining companies will be developing the technology to extract the ore from the watery depths, says Dr. Scott. He envisions the use of "deep sea versions of robotic coal mining machines" with the ore piped up to mining ships, or semi-submersible platforms as used by the offshore oil industry. He notes that deep sea robotics is a mature industry, driven in large part by the needs of offshore oil exploration and recovery.
Deep sea mining technology was given a major kick-start, notes Dr. Scott, by the approximately $650 million spent internationally in an aborted effort to develop sea floor manganese nodule mining technology in the 1970s and '80s. Manganese nodules, often rich in nickel and copper, are formed by the slow precipitation of the minerals from seawater. The nodules cover vast areas of the deep ocean floor known as the abyssal plains.
Dr. Scott was initially drawn to black smokers as a way of understanding the formation of strikingly similar terrestrial polymetallic sulphide deposits, such as those mined at the Kidd Creek copper and zinc mine in northern Ontario, Canada, and in many other countries in the world, including the United States.
"We wanted to know whether marine geology held clues for the occurrence of these terrestrial deposits. And it does," says Dr. Scott.
Now they've become "living laboratories" for understanding the formation of terrestrial and marine polymetallic sulphide deposits. One of Dr. Scott's postdoctoral students just returned from a vessel drilling the Nautilus claims off the Papua New Guinea coast. She is exploring the role that bacteria play in creating these mineral deposits.
"Getting samples from the interior of these deposits is rare," says Dr. Scott. "What we're interested in from the perspective of pure science is what microorganisms are in these deposits and what they're doing. Are they in fact causing mineralization?"
Reflecting on the environmental impacts of potential sea floor mining, Dr. Scott says that he believes it could be less damaging than terrestrial mining.
"The ocean mining companies are going to have environmental problems like there are with any industrial process," says Dr. Scott. "There's understandably going to be legitimate concern from many in the public."
According to Dr. Scott, sea floor mining avoids many of the problems associated with terrestrial mining. There's no acid mine drainage, since the acids are neutralized by the alkaline sea water. The sulphide deposits are on the sea floor, so there would be no excavation and the resulting waste rock piles, and no permanent structures would be left behind. The mining also wouldn't touch active black smokers, regions that are known to have a rich diversity of submarine life.
And while he sees their economic potential, Dr. Scott has also already led the way in protecting black smokers. He was the geologist on the scientific team that spearheaded the case for the world's first deep ocean park, the Endeavour segment of black smokers along the Pacific submarine Juan de Fuca Ridge off Canada's west coast.
###
Contact:
Dr. Steven Scott
(416) 978-5424
scottsd@geology.utoronto.ca
Arnet Sheppard
NSERC Public Affairs
(613) 859-1269
Dr. Scott's AAAS Presentation
Mining deep ocean metallic sulphides is closer than you think
Sunday, February 19, 2006
3:30 p.m. -5:00 p.m. Central Time
Dr. Scott has consulted for Neptune Minerals. He was also the Director and Chief Scientist of a now defunct fledgling American marine mining company, Deep Sea Minerals.
For information on the Nautilus Minerals and Neptune Minerals explorations see: www.nautilusminerals.com or www.neptuneminerals.com
Public release date: 19-Feb-2006
[ Print Article | E-mail Article | Close Window ]
Contact: Steven Scott
scottsd@geology.utoronto.ca
416-978-5424
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
The dawn of deep ocean mining
We're on the brink of the era of deep ocean mining, says a global pioneer in the study of sea floor mineral deposits. Dr. Steven Scott, a geologist at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada says that advances in marine geology and deep ocean technology have combined to make it realistic to go more than two kilometres underwater for gold and other mineral treasures.
It's a transformation that he says has evoked a knee-jerk reaction over the possible environmental impacts of this mining, which he believes could be less destructive than terrestrial mining.
Presently, the world's first two neophyte marine mining companies, Nautilus Minerals and Neptune Minerals are actively exploring the possibility of mining deep sea floor deposits. Neptune is assessing deposits it holds the rights to in territorial waters off the north coast of New Zealand's North Island. Nautilus and its joint venture partner Placer Dome, a Canadian gold mining company, are collecting samples from a deposit to which Nautilus holds the rights in the Bismarck Sea off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea.
The big question for these companies is the economic potential of undersea deposits of polymetallic sulphides. These sulphur-rich sea floor ore bodies are produced worldwide in underwater volcanic regions by "black smokers." The black smokers are formed when seawater seeps into the porous sea bottom, is heated and re-emerges through vents carrying dissolved minerals. When the hot water hits the cold sea floor water, the minerals precipitate, creating chimney-like towers called black smokers. Over time, these towers collapse and accumulate to form ore deposits, some of which are rich in gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc.
Dr. Scott was the first mining geologist to explore black smokers. In 1982 he joined members of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the submersible Alvin to explore newly discovered black smokers 2,000 metres below the waves in the Gulf of California off the coast of Mexico. He says that after more than two decades of promoting the possibility of mining the deposits created by black smokers, the launch of the present ventures is a move that's required mining companies to cross a watery psychological barrier.
"Twenty years ago, most mining companies didn't want to hear about this possibility. They thought it was too difficult. But now some are seeing that it's a lot easier to go down through a couple of thousand metres of water than through a couple of thousand metres of rock," says Dr. Scott, who is the Director of the Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory and the Norman B. Keevil Professor of Ore Genesis at the University of Toronto.
Presently the deepest undersea mines – diamond mines off the coast of southern Africa – are under just a few hundred metres of water. But Dr. Scott points to the offshore oil and gas industry as an example of the possibility for change. The international oil and gas industry went offshore starting in the mid-1940s. Today, about a third of the world's oil comes from under the sea. There are producing wells in 1,500 metres of water off the coast of Brazil, and there's drilling at 2,500 metres depth in the Gulf of Mexico.
The key challenge for new marine mining companies will be developing the technology to extract the ore from the watery depths, says Dr. Scott. He envisions the use of "deep sea versions of robotic coal mining machines" with the ore piped up to mining ships, or semi-submersible platforms as used by the offshore oil industry. He notes that deep sea robotics is a mature industry, driven in large part by the needs of offshore oil exploration and recovery.
Deep sea mining technology was given a major kick-start, notes Dr. Scott, by the approximately $650 million spent internationally in an aborted effort to develop sea floor manganese nodule mining technology in the 1970s and '80s. Manganese nodules, often rich in nickel and copper, are formed by the slow precipitation of the minerals from seawater. The nodules cover vast areas of the deep ocean floor known as the abyssal plains.
Dr. Scott was initially drawn to black smokers as a way of understanding the formation of strikingly similar terrestrial polymetallic sulphide deposits, such as those mined at the Kidd Creek copper and zinc mine in northern Ontario, Canada, and in many other countries in the world, including the United States.
"We wanted to know whether marine geology held clues for the occurrence of these terrestrial deposits. And it does," says Dr. Scott.
Now they've become "living laboratories" for understanding the formation of terrestrial and marine polymetallic sulphide deposits. One of Dr. Scott's postdoctoral students just returned from a vessel drilling the Nautilus claims off the Papua New Guinea coast. She is exploring the role that bacteria play in creating these mineral deposits.
"Getting samples from the interior of these deposits is rare," says Dr. Scott. "What we're interested in from the perspective of pure science is what microorganisms are in these deposits and what they're doing. Are they in fact causing mineralization?"
Reflecting on the environmental impacts of potential sea floor mining, Dr. Scott says that he believes it could be less damaging than terrestrial mining.
"The ocean mining companies are going to have environmental problems like there are with any industrial process," says Dr. Scott. "There's understandably going to be legitimate concern from many in the public."
According to Dr. Scott, sea floor mining avoids many of the problems associated with terrestrial mining. There's no acid mine drainage, since the acids are neutralized by the alkaline sea water. The sulphide deposits are on the sea floor, so there would be no excavation and the resulting waste rock piles, and no permanent structures would be left behind. The mining also wouldn't touch active black smokers, regions that are known to have a rich diversity of submarine life.
And while he sees their economic potential, Dr. Scott has also already led the way in protecting black smokers. He was the geologist on the scientific team that spearheaded the case for the world's first deep ocean park, the Endeavour segment of black smokers along the Pacific submarine Juan de Fuca Ridge off Canada's west coast.
###
Contact:
Dr. Steven Scott
(416) 978-5424
scottsd@geology.utoronto.ca
Arnet Sheppard
NSERC Public Affairs
(613) 859-1269
Dr. Scott's AAAS Presentation
Mining deep ocean metallic sulphides is closer than you think
Sunday, February 19, 2006
3:30 p.m. -5:00 p.m. Central Time
Dr. Scott has consulted for Neptune Minerals. He was also the Director and Chief Scientist of a now defunct fledgling American marine mining company, Deep Sea Minerals.
For information on the Nautilus Minerals and Neptune Minerals explorations see: www.nautilusminerals.com or www.neptuneminerals.com
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http://www.promackmining.com/
Admin Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:32 am
Gold Mining Consulting Professionals
Pro-Mack Mining is a world class commercial mining company specializing in underwater mining operations and international gold mining consulting services. We can provide extensive experience and resources for the majority of underwater mining situations.
* Gold Mining Consulting
* Sampling Assistance
* Production Dredging
* Mining Logistics
* Supply Support
* Project Management
* Experienced Field Teams
* Gold Dredging Equipment
* Recovery Equipment
* Mining Team Training
* Feasibility Assessments
* Legal Assistance
If you are considering a gold mining venture and are not yet certain of your deposits, your equipment or your procedures; we recommend gathering together the most successful, experienced consulting team you can find to assist you in putting your mining operation on the right track.
Obtaining a return on the entire investment you will make in setting up your mining operation, purchasing equipment, creating the support logistics -- all depends upon the performance of your initial sampling team.
Our Pro-Mack consulting team has master-level ability to evaluate your mining properties. This will be the make-or-break difference between possibly abandoning an area, or making a major gold strike.
If you still have any uncertainties about the importance of acquiring a highly-trained and motivated consulting team, and all of the different factors which are involved, we recommend you view Dave McCracken's video: Successful Commercial Gold Dredging And Sampling Techniques.
Please feel free to contact us for more information.
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Nautilus Minerals Inc.
Admin Fri Jul 09, 2010 9:50 am
http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Home.asp
"Nautilus recently published an independent study of the pioneering Solwara 1 project in Papua New Guinea. The study is the result of five years of development and engineering work and provides in depth project definition and costs.
Recent Updates
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals 2010 AGM Voting Results (more...)
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study (more...)
10-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Signs Contract for 2010 Drilling Program (more...)
Nautilus Minerals Inc ("Nautilus") is following the lead by the offshore oil and gas industry to tap vast offshore resources. It is the first company to commercially explore the seafloor for massive sulphide systems, a potential source of high grade copper, gold, zinc and silver. Nautilus is developing a production system using existing technologies adapted from the offshore oil and gas industry to enable the extraction of these high grade Seafloor Massive Sulphide ("SMS") systems on a commercial scale.
The world's first seafloor copper-gold project, Solwara 1, is under development in Papua New Guinea. Utilising technologies from the offshore oil and gas, dredging and mining industries, the project will mark the launch of this new deep water seafloor resource production industry.
The Company plans to grow its tenement licences and exploration applications in the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand both regionally and across the world.
Listed on the Toronto (TSX) and London (AIM) exchanges, Nautilus has among its cornerstone shareholders three of the world's largest resource companies and its alliances and technical partnerships position it as the world leader in deep water exploration and development of minerals systems
nautilus cares To access the Nautilus Minerals Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting documents, please visit our CARES (Community Accountable, Responsible Environmentally, Safe) website.
www.cares.nautilusminerals.com
AIM and LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE are registered trade marks
of London Stock Exchange plc in the UK and other countries
and are used under licence
Investors
Stock Information Reports & Documents News Releases Multimedia Fact Sheet Presentations Investor Contacts Analyst Coverage
Show printable version of 'Stock Information' item in a New Window
Email 'Stock Information' item to a friend
Recent Updates
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals 2010 AGM Voting Results (more...)
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study (more...)
10-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Signs Contract for 2010 Drilling Program (more...)
Toronto Stock Exchange - C$
London Stock Exchange : AIM -- GBP £
Issued Capital:
Nautilus Minerals has on issue as at March 31, 2010;
Common Shares 155,558,884
Options 13,683,500
Fully Diluted 169,242,384
Financial:
Debt free as at March 31, 2010.
Cash on Hand US$196.0 million as at March 31, 2010.
Additional potential cash from full dilution - US$40.7M million
Significant Shareholders (>3%):
Significant Shareholders as at March 31, 2010, include:
Gazmetall, part of Russia's largest iron ore producer 21.0%
Anglo American 11.1%
Teck Resources 6.8%
Shares not in public hands (as defined by AIM Rules) - 26%.
Treasury Shares:
Nautilus Minerals does not hold any shares in Treasury.
Home Corporate Media Kit Investors Projects Exploration Careers Contact Disclaimer
© 2006 Nautilus Minerals Inc.
"Nautilus recently published an independent study of the pioneering Solwara 1 project in Papua New Guinea. The study is the result of five years of development and engineering work and provides in depth project definition and costs.
Recent Updates
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals 2010 AGM Voting Results (more...)
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study (more...)
10-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Signs Contract for 2010 Drilling Program (more...)
Nautilus Minerals Inc ("Nautilus") is following the lead by the offshore oil and gas industry to tap vast offshore resources. It is the first company to commercially explore the seafloor for massive sulphide systems, a potential source of high grade copper, gold, zinc and silver. Nautilus is developing a production system using existing technologies adapted from the offshore oil and gas industry to enable the extraction of these high grade Seafloor Massive Sulphide ("SMS") systems on a commercial scale.
The world's first seafloor copper-gold project, Solwara 1, is under development in Papua New Guinea. Utilising technologies from the offshore oil and gas, dredging and mining industries, the project will mark the launch of this new deep water seafloor resource production industry.
The Company plans to grow its tenement licences and exploration applications in the exclusive economic zones and territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and New Zealand both regionally and across the world.
Listed on the Toronto (TSX) and London (AIM) exchanges, Nautilus has among its cornerstone shareholders three of the world's largest resource companies and its alliances and technical partnerships position it as the world leader in deep water exploration and development of minerals systems
nautilus cares To access the Nautilus Minerals Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and supporting documents, please visit our CARES (Community Accountable, Responsible Environmentally, Safe) website.
www.cares.nautilusminerals.com
AIM and LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE are registered trade marks
of London Stock Exchange plc in the UK and other countries
and are used under licence
Investors
Stock Information Reports & Documents News Releases Multimedia Fact Sheet Presentations Investor Contacts Analyst Coverage
Show printable version of 'Stock Information' item in a New Window
Email 'Stock Information' item to a friend
Recent Updates
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals 2010 AGM Voting Results (more...)
23-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study (more...)
10-Jun-10 - Nautilus Minerals Signs Contract for 2010 Drilling Program (more...)
Toronto Stock Exchange - C$
London Stock Exchange : AIM -- GBP £
Issued Capital:
Nautilus Minerals has on issue as at March 31, 2010;
Common Shares 155,558,884
Options 13,683,500
Fully Diluted 169,242,384
Financial:
Debt free as at March 31, 2010.
Cash on Hand US$196.0 million as at March 31, 2010.
Additional potential cash from full dilution - US$40.7M million
Significant Shareholders (>3%):
Significant Shareholders as at March 31, 2010, include:
Gazmetall, part of Russia's largest iron ore producer 21.0%
Anglo American 11.1%
Teck Resources 6.8%
Shares not in public hands (as defined by AIM Rules) - 26%.
Treasury Shares:
Nautilus Minerals does not hold any shares in Treasury.
Home Corporate Media Kit Investors Projects Exploration Careers Contact Disclaimer
© 2006 Nautilus Minerals Inc.
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NAUTILUS MINERALS INC. TSX, AIM SYMBOL: NUS Drilling Report
Admin Fri Jul 09, 2010 6:56 pm
Company Nautilus
TIDM NUS
Headline Drilling Report
Released 13:54 23-Jun-2010
Number XUK6176696
FOR: NAUTILUS MINERALS INC. TSX, AIM SYMBOL: NUS June 23, 2010 Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 23, 2010) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(AIM:NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces the results of an independent definition and cost study (the "Study") for its proposed offshore production system (the "Offshore Production System") to be deployed in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea ("PNG"). The Study provides definition and cost estimates to extract material from the seafloor mineral resources at the Company's Solwara 1 site (the "Project"), to raise it to the support vessel, dewater it and deliver it to the Port of Rabaul, PNG. /T/ The key conclusions of the Study are as follows: -- Capital costs for the Offshore Production System, including those associated with barging to the Port of Rabaul, are estimated to be US$383 million (including a 17.5% contingency). -- Average operating costs up to the Port of Rabaul are estimated to be US$70 per tonne (including a 10% contingency) based on a 1.35 million tonnes per year production rate. -- The Study indicates production commencing at a rate of 1.2 million tonnes per year (dry equivalent) but notes that the Offshore Production System will have the capacity to ramp up to 1.8 million tonnes per year. -- The Study estimates it will take 30 months to complete the build of the Offshore Production System and to commence commercial production once approved by the Board of Nautilus. /T/ As of the date hereof, the complete build of the Offshore Production System has not been approved by the Board of Nautilus. Subject to securing adequate financing to advance the Project through to commercial production, Board approval is expected to be received during 2010. Nautilus does not intend to complete a formal feasibility study or define a large, long life resource or reserve before it proceeds with the completion of the equipment build and commencement of production at the Solwara 1 Project. Management considers the Company's best interests are served by first demonstrating that existing offshore technologies can be adapted to cut and recover high grade seafloor massive sulphides from the deep ocean. Stephen Rogers, Nautilus' CEO commented: "The Study was completed to provide cost guidance and project definition. The work contains the results of over five years of engineering, testing and mine planning. Our estimated operating costs are competitive with the operating costs for existing deep underground mines. However, one of our great advantages over land-based mining is that the equipment used in our Offshore Production System is mobile, allowing production at successive sites without needing significant additional capital investment." The Study The Study was undertaken to obtain an independently confirmed summary of the components and an associated estimate of the offshore production costs only. Detailed information concerning the cost estimates and the basis for the estimates can be found in the Study. The estimated operating costs set out in the Study do not include the cost of stockpiling material in Rabaul, reclaim from the stockpile, shipment to a treatment facility or any other downstream processing, transportation and sales costs including, but not limited to concentration, treatment and refining charges, cost of sales and any statutory royalties or production taxes. These costs are significant. The estimated operating costs also exclude the capital and financing costs associated with establishing the Offshore Production System. In preparing the operating cost estimate, a heavy fuel oil price of US$523 per tonne and a production support vessel charter rate of US$75,000 per day (being a portion of the estimated daily costs of US$144,796 for the production support vessel) were assumed based on recent competitive market quotes. These two key assumptions account for approximately 40% of the estimated operating costs. Fuel costs will be subject to fluctuations in the market price of oil. The Study assumes that the production support vessel for the Project will be chartered. As Nautilus has not yet entered into a charter for the vessel, the price used in the estimate may not be realized. Investors are cautioned that the Study is not an economic assessment of the Solwara 1 Project as a whole and does not confirm the Project's economic viability. Investors are cautioned not to use the Study for that purpose and that a study of all costs, rates of recovery and reasonable revenue projections is necessary before any assessment of economic viability can be made. The Study was developed from a preliminary mine plan that includes inferred mineral resources. Investors are cautioned that inferred resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the costs relating to the Offshore Production System set forth in the Study will be realized. In addition, the indicated mineral resources included in the mine plan are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. /T/ The Study addresses the entire proposed Offshore Production System, including barging to a land-based stockpile at Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. The principal operations involve: -- Seafloor cutting and gathering; -- Mineralized material (slurry) recovery to surface; -- Slurry dewatering; -- Mineralized material discharge to transportation barges; and -- Transport of the mineralized material to the Port of Rabaul. /T/ The proposed Offshore Production System is composed of various technologies utilised in the oil and gas, mining and dredging industries but modified for the Offshore Production System. Seafloor cutting is proposed to be undertaken by two large robotic machines that would excavate material from the seafloor by a continuous cutting process, not unlike coal or other bulk continuous mining machines on land. The Auxiliary Miner is a preparatory machine that deals with rough terrain and creates benches for the other machines to work. It will operate on tracks with spud assistance and has a boom mounted cutting head for flexibility. The second machine, the Bulk Miner, has higher cutting capacity but will be limited to working benches created by the Auxiliary Miner. Both machines would leave cut material on the seafloor for collection by the Gathering Machine. The Gathering Machine, also a large robotic vehicle, will collect the cut material by drawing it in as a seawater slurry through internal pumps. The slurry will exit the Gathering Machine through a flexible pipe and would then be transferred to the Riser and Lift System (RALS). The proposed RALS system comprises a large pump and rigid riser pipe hanging from a vessel which delivers the slurry to the surface. The proposed pump is a positive displacement type, designed and built by GE Hydril (Houston, TX). The pump would hang from a solid vertical riser pipe suspended beneath the support vessel. The pipe would be deployed to the seabed by a large derrick and draw works system on board the vessel. On deck of the production support vessel (PSV), the slurry would pass through a dewatering plant. The dewatered material would be discharged to a transportation barge moored alongside. Used seawater would be pumped back to the seafloor through the riser pipes and would provide the hydraulic power to operate the RALS pump. Discharge of the return water at the seafloor would avoid impacts to the warm surface seawaters, minimizing environmental impact of the operation. The transportation barges will haul the material a short voyage of approximately 50 kms from the Solwara 1 site to a stockpile location in the Port of Rabaul. Definition and costs for barge unloading and all subsequent activities are not included in the scope of the Study. See Figure 1: Process Flowsheet: www.nautilusminerals.com/i/misc/Figure-1_Process_Flow_Diagram.pdf The Study, which is titled "Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study" and dated June 21, 2010, was prepared by Phil Jankowski, Erich Heymann and John Blackburn of SRK (Australia) Pty Ltd. in Perth and includes information prepared by Peter Chwastiak of Clough Limited, Peter Munro of Mineralurgy Pty Ltd, Andrew See of Ausenco Services Pty. Ltd and Ian Lipton of Golder Associates Pty. Ltd (collectively, the "Qualified Persons"). The Qualified Persons have reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained within this news release and are Qualified Persons and independent of the Company in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as of the date hereof and at the time of the preparation of the Study. The full text of the Study can be downloaded from Nautilus' website at: www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Investors- Financials.asp. Issue of Variation Order The Offshore Production System described in the Study requires the build of three subsea deepwater machines for cutting and gathering, being the Auxiliary Miner, Bulk Miner and Gathering Machine. Nautilus has today finalised and issued a variation order to Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd ("SMD") to modify the existing design-build contract for the provision of two integrated machines and one handling system to three specialist machines and the associated launch and recovery systems. The SMD design-build contract was disclosed in a press release dated December 18, 2007 and can be found at Nautilus' website at (www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=277920). The variation order valued at approximately GBP 19 million (US$28 million or C$29 million equivalent)(1) has been incorporated in the Study. It should be noted that no approval has been granted by the Nautilus Board for the recommencement of build of any other equipment for the Offshore Production System. (1) Exchange rates used: C$1.00 equal to US$0.97 and GBP 0.66. About Nautilus Minerals Inc. Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is currently developing its first project. The Company's main focus is the Solwara 1 Project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean. Nautilus is listed on the TSX and AIM stock exchanges, and has among its largest shareholders two of the world's leading international resource companies Anglo American (11.1%), Teck Resources (6.8%) and Metalloinvest, one of the largest and fastest growing mining and metallurgical holding companies in Russia, beneficially owns 21.0% of its shares through Gazmetall Holding (Cyprus) Limited. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is not comprised of historical facts and includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the operating costs, capital costs, production rates, the project build schedule and other factors associated with the Study. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements (including in the negative). Forward- looking information reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future results or events and is based on opinions, estimates and assumptions at the date indicated in the information, including the cost of fuel and the charter rate for the Company's vessels, the proposed mine plan, receipt of regulatory approval in the anticipated time frames and assumptions regarding exchange rates. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there can be no assurance they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking information include changes in market conditions, variations in grade of material or recovery rates, regulatory approvals and other approvals, fluctuating metal prices and currency exchange rates, changes in project parameters, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 (a copy of which is available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com). Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The Company does not undertakes any obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or its management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. -30- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Investor Relations Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Toronto) +1 (416) 551 1100 investor@nautilusminerals.com www.nautilusminerals.com OR Numis Securities Limited Nominated adviser: John Harrison Corporate broking: James Black + 44(0) 20 7260 1000 OR Australian Project Office +61 (7) 3318 5555 Neither the TSX nor the London Stock Exchange accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. -0- Nautilus Minerals Inc.
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TIDM NUS
Headline Drilling Report
Released 13:54 23-Jun-2010
Number XUK6176696
FOR: NAUTILUS MINERALS INC. TSX, AIM SYMBOL: NUS June 23, 2010 Nautilus Minerals Releases Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 23, 2010) - Nautilus Minerals Inc. (TSX:NUS)(AIM:NUS) (the "Company" or "Nautilus") announces the results of an independent definition and cost study (the "Study") for its proposed offshore production system (the "Offshore Production System") to be deployed in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea ("PNG"). The Study provides definition and cost estimates to extract material from the seafloor mineral resources at the Company's Solwara 1 site (the "Project"), to raise it to the support vessel, dewater it and deliver it to the Port of Rabaul, PNG. /T/ The key conclusions of the Study are as follows: -- Capital costs for the Offshore Production System, including those associated with barging to the Port of Rabaul, are estimated to be US$383 million (including a 17.5% contingency). -- Average operating costs up to the Port of Rabaul are estimated to be US$70 per tonne (including a 10% contingency) based on a 1.35 million tonnes per year production rate. -- The Study indicates production commencing at a rate of 1.2 million tonnes per year (dry equivalent) but notes that the Offshore Production System will have the capacity to ramp up to 1.8 million tonnes per year. -- The Study estimates it will take 30 months to complete the build of the Offshore Production System and to commence commercial production once approved by the Board of Nautilus. /T/ As of the date hereof, the complete build of the Offshore Production System has not been approved by the Board of Nautilus. Subject to securing adequate financing to advance the Project through to commercial production, Board approval is expected to be received during 2010. Nautilus does not intend to complete a formal feasibility study or define a large, long life resource or reserve before it proceeds with the completion of the equipment build and commencement of production at the Solwara 1 Project. Management considers the Company's best interests are served by first demonstrating that existing offshore technologies can be adapted to cut and recover high grade seafloor massive sulphides from the deep ocean. Stephen Rogers, Nautilus' CEO commented: "The Study was completed to provide cost guidance and project definition. The work contains the results of over five years of engineering, testing and mine planning. Our estimated operating costs are competitive with the operating costs for existing deep underground mines. However, one of our great advantages over land-based mining is that the equipment used in our Offshore Production System is mobile, allowing production at successive sites without needing significant additional capital investment." The Study The Study was undertaken to obtain an independently confirmed summary of the components and an associated estimate of the offshore production costs only. Detailed information concerning the cost estimates and the basis for the estimates can be found in the Study. The estimated operating costs set out in the Study do not include the cost of stockpiling material in Rabaul, reclaim from the stockpile, shipment to a treatment facility or any other downstream processing, transportation and sales costs including, but not limited to concentration, treatment and refining charges, cost of sales and any statutory royalties or production taxes. These costs are significant. The estimated operating costs also exclude the capital and financing costs associated with establishing the Offshore Production System. In preparing the operating cost estimate, a heavy fuel oil price of US$523 per tonne and a production support vessel charter rate of US$75,000 per day (being a portion of the estimated daily costs of US$144,796 for the production support vessel) were assumed based on recent competitive market quotes. These two key assumptions account for approximately 40% of the estimated operating costs. Fuel costs will be subject to fluctuations in the market price of oil. The Study assumes that the production support vessel for the Project will be chartered. As Nautilus has not yet entered into a charter for the vessel, the price used in the estimate may not be realized. Investors are cautioned that the Study is not an economic assessment of the Solwara 1 Project as a whole and does not confirm the Project's economic viability. Investors are cautioned not to use the Study for that purpose and that a study of all costs, rates of recovery and reasonable revenue projections is necessary before any assessment of economic viability can be made. The Study was developed from a preliminary mine plan that includes inferred mineral resources. Investors are cautioned that inferred resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the costs relating to the Offshore Production System set forth in the Study will be realized. In addition, the indicated mineral resources included in the mine plan are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. /T/ The Study addresses the entire proposed Offshore Production System, including barging to a land-based stockpile at Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. The principal operations involve: -- Seafloor cutting and gathering; -- Mineralized material (slurry) recovery to surface; -- Slurry dewatering; -- Mineralized material discharge to transportation barges; and -- Transport of the mineralized material to the Port of Rabaul. /T/ The proposed Offshore Production System is composed of various technologies utilised in the oil and gas, mining and dredging industries but modified for the Offshore Production System. Seafloor cutting is proposed to be undertaken by two large robotic machines that would excavate material from the seafloor by a continuous cutting process, not unlike coal or other bulk continuous mining machines on land. The Auxiliary Miner is a preparatory machine that deals with rough terrain and creates benches for the other machines to work. It will operate on tracks with spud assistance and has a boom mounted cutting head for flexibility. The second machine, the Bulk Miner, has higher cutting capacity but will be limited to working benches created by the Auxiliary Miner. Both machines would leave cut material on the seafloor for collection by the Gathering Machine. The Gathering Machine, also a large robotic vehicle, will collect the cut material by drawing it in as a seawater slurry through internal pumps. The slurry will exit the Gathering Machine through a flexible pipe and would then be transferred to the Riser and Lift System (RALS). The proposed RALS system comprises a large pump and rigid riser pipe hanging from a vessel which delivers the slurry to the surface. The proposed pump is a positive displacement type, designed and built by GE Hydril (Houston, TX). The pump would hang from a solid vertical riser pipe suspended beneath the support vessel. The pipe would be deployed to the seabed by a large derrick and draw works system on board the vessel. On deck of the production support vessel (PSV), the slurry would pass through a dewatering plant. The dewatered material would be discharged to a transportation barge moored alongside. Used seawater would be pumped back to the seafloor through the riser pipes and would provide the hydraulic power to operate the RALS pump. Discharge of the return water at the seafloor would avoid impacts to the warm surface seawaters, minimizing environmental impact of the operation. The transportation barges will haul the material a short voyage of approximately 50 kms from the Solwara 1 site to a stockpile location in the Port of Rabaul. Definition and costs for barge unloading and all subsequent activities are not included in the scope of the Study. See Figure 1: Process Flowsheet: www.nautilusminerals.com/i/misc/Figure-1_Process_Flow_Diagram.pdf The Study, which is titled "Offshore Production System Definition and Cost Study" and dated June 21, 2010, was prepared by Phil Jankowski, Erich Heymann and John Blackburn of SRK (Australia) Pty Ltd. in Perth and includes information prepared by Peter Chwastiak of Clough Limited, Peter Munro of Mineralurgy Pty Ltd, Andrew See of Ausenco Services Pty. Ltd and Ian Lipton of Golder Associates Pty. Ltd (collectively, the "Qualified Persons"). The Qualified Persons have reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained within this news release and are Qualified Persons and independent of the Company in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects as of the date hereof and at the time of the preparation of the Study. The full text of the Study can be downloaded from Nautilus' website at: www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Investors- Financials.asp. Issue of Variation Order The Offshore Production System described in the Study requires the build of three subsea deepwater machines for cutting and gathering, being the Auxiliary Miner, Bulk Miner and Gathering Machine. Nautilus has today finalised and issued a variation order to Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd ("SMD") to modify the existing design-build contract for the provision of two integrated machines and one handling system to three specialist machines and the associated launch and recovery systems. The SMD design-build contract was disclosed in a press release dated December 18, 2007 and can be found at Nautilus' website at (www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=277920). The variation order valued at approximately GBP 19 million (US$28 million or C$29 million equivalent)(1) has been incorporated in the Study. It should be noted that no approval has been granted by the Nautilus Board for the recommencement of build of any other equipment for the Offshore Production System. (1) Exchange rates used: C$1.00 equal to US$0.97 and GBP 0.66. About Nautilus Minerals Inc. Nautilus is the first company to commercially explore the ocean floor for polymetallic seafloor massive sulphide deposits and is currently developing its first project. The Company's main focus is the Solwara 1 Project, which is located in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean. Nautilus is listed on the TSX and AIM stock exchanges, and has among its largest shareholders two of the world's leading international resource companies Anglo American (11.1%), Teck Resources (6.8%) and Metalloinvest, one of the largest and fastest growing mining and metallurgical holding companies in Russia, beneficially owns 21.0% of its shares through Gazmetall Holding (Cyprus) Limited. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is not comprised of historical facts and includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the operating costs, capital costs, production rates, the project build schedule and other factors associated with the Study. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements (including in the negative). Forward- looking information reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future results or events and is based on opinions, estimates and assumptions at the date indicated in the information, including the cost of fuel and the charter rate for the Company's vessels, the proposed mine plan, receipt of regulatory approval in the anticipated time frames and assumptions regarding exchange rates. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there can be no assurance they will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking information include changes in market conditions, variations in grade of material or recovery rates, regulatory approvals and other approvals, fluctuating metal prices and currency exchange rates, changes in project parameters, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 (a copy of which is available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com). Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The Company does not undertakes any obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or its management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. -30- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Investor Relations Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Toronto) +1 (416) 551 1100 investor@nautilusminerals.com www.nautilusminerals.com OR Numis Securities Limited Nominated adviser: John Harrison Corporate broking: James Black + 44(0) 20 7260 1000 OR Australian Project Office +61 (7) 3318 5555 Neither the TSX nor the London Stock Exchange accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. -0- Nautilus Minerals Inc.
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©2009 London Stock Exchange plc. All rights reserved
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"A company has filed an application for a deep sea gold mining expedition off the coast of New Zealand, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Neptune Minerals lodged the application for the A$622 million (£300 million) operation with the country's Ministry of Economic Development.
The gold is apparently located 300 kilometres to the north of East Cape.
According to the website, the company proposes to pull up thousands of tonnes of gold from the ocean to be consolidated onshore before being delivered to a smelter.
Campbell McKenzie, manager of Neptune Minerals, told Fairfax Media, Stuff.co.nz's parent site, that: "The study we have done so far indicates the margins are good there ... and ... we certainly think we can make it a commercial proposition."
Mining will focus on two deposits on Rumble II, an inactive underwater volcano.
If the application is approved it will be the world's second deep sea mining operation. "
NEPTUNE MINERALS
Neptune Minerals since the AGM has undergone a corporate restructure with board changes. This streamlining of operations is an effort by the Board to maintain focussed in the ultimate commercialisation of seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits by delivering value to its shareholders, whilst considering the current economic climate.
Neptune Minerals is a leading explorer and developer of precious- and base-metal seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits, with granted exploration licences totalling more than 261,146 km2 in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia and Vanuatu. Neptune has exploration applications covering 350,780 km2 pending in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Japan, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and Italy.
SMS are high-grade hydrothermal deposits rich in copper, zinc and lead with a high gold and silver content, found on the ocean floor. This new mining asset class has not been commercially developed anywhere in the world.
Neptune has undertaken three exploration programs over its tenements offshore New Zealand and participated in an international research program over its Italian applications. In 2007, Neptune discovered two new hydrothermally inactive SMS zones in the Kermadec area (New Zealand) over which the company lodged a mining licence application in July 2008
Neptune Minerals is a UK-registered public company founded in 1999 to explore, develop and commercialise seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits. Neptune's operations office is based in Sydney, Australia. The company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 10 October 2005 following a capital raising of £9.3 million. Shareholders of the company voted to delist Neptune from the AIM board effective 9 February 2009. The rationale behind delisting was to add value to the company using private funding and to reduce corporate costs during a time of global downturn. The company's activities and aims remain the same.
Neptune's business strategy is to deliver to its shareholders a focused, active and financially accountable SMS exploration company. Neptune will strive to be at the forefront of identifying and defining SMS deposits and developing the technologies required to commercialise those deposits.
To fulfil these ambitions, Neptune is undertaking the following activities:
* Ongoing new ventures acquisition
* Planning active exploration programs
* Locating joint venture partners and strategic investors
Delivery of these activities will be met by maintaining and developing:
* A clear and accountable strategy of sustainable exploration and commercialisation of SMS deposits
* Management working with outsourced expertise
* Stakeholder relationships in all facets of the business
The company's granted exploration licences and application areas cover known SMS occurrences and highly prospective zones in the territorial waters of nations in the western Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Neptune's immediate goal is to confirm the tonnage and grade of SMS mineral deposits to justify the major capital investment required to mine and transport SMS.
What are SMS Print E-mail
What are Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) deposits?
Seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) are high-grade hydrothermal deposits rich in copper, zinc and lead with a high gold and silver content. Recovered SMS samples generally have significantly higher metal content than those mined onshore around the world.
SMS have been identified worldwide from extensive international research as current ore-forming processes associated with submerged tectonic margins and mid-ocean spreading margins.
Hydrothermal plumes (commonly referred to as “Black Smokers”) occur where metal-rich high-temperature fluids discharge from seafloor vents. Before the fluids enter the ocean, they are commonly between 300oC and 500oC and under high pressure. Under these conditions the superheated waters dissolve minerals from the surrounding rocks. As the fluid enters the near-freezing ocean water, the metals in solution precipitate out as sulphide particles and typically build chimneys packed with minerals. Fine particles from the chimney plumes fall to the ocean floor and build up as concentrated metalliferous deposits (SMS).
Over time the hydrothermal plumbing systems close off and migrate to new fracture systems on the seafloor. The challenge for commercial explorers is to find the cold, inactive SMS deposits on the seafloor. They cannot be traced by following the smoke plumes as happens in active SMS vent fields.
Ancient onshore sulphide ore deposits originally formed on the seafloor occur widely around the world and are termed volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. SMS deposits are the modern day, currently-forming equivalent to VMS deposits that have been successfully developed into world-class mines onshore.
frequently asked questions Print E-mail
Who is Neptune Minerals?
Neptune Minerals is a leading explorer and developer of seafloor massive sulphides (SMS), a new class of high-grade base and precious metal deposits found on the ocean floor. Neptune has exclusive exploration rights to SMS prospective areas over 278,222 km2 in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia. Neptune is actively acquiring other SMS mineral rights primarily in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Can I buy/trade shares in Neptune Minerals?
On 9 February 2009, Neptune Minerals delisted from the London Stock Exchange. The company’s shares and warrants can no longer be traded on the London Stock Exchange, however can be traded off market on the basis of a willing buyer and seller. Existing shareholders who wish to dispose of their shareholding can contact the company for assistance at info@nepmins.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
If you are intending selling your shares then the following procedures should be followed:
Shares may only be transferred by completion of a stock transfer form. To complete the form you will need to insert the following information:
* The amount of consideration paid for the shares
* The full name of the company in which you hold shares
* The type of shares that you hold e.g. Ordinary Shares of 10p each
* The number of shares in words and figures that you are transferring
* Your signature and, if appropriate, the signatures of any joint holders
* The full names and address of the person to whom you are transferring the shares
Stamp duty is payable to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on transfers of shares at the rate of 0.5% of the amount of consideration paid for the shares rounded up to the next multiple of £5.00. If stamp duty is payable you will need to send the completed stock transfer form to:
Birmingham Stamp Office
9th Floor
City Centre House
30 Union Street
Birmingham
B2 4AR
England
Tel: +44 (0)845 603 0135
Fax: +44 (0)121 643 8381
You should then send the completed and stamped (if applicable) stock transfer form together with the covering share certificate to the office of our registrar for registration (Share Registrars Limited, Suite E, First Floor, 9 Lion and Lamb Yard, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LL, England).
Share Registrars Limited will prepare a new share certificate in the name of the transferee and send you any balance certificate that may be required.
A copy of the share transfer form can be downloaded from the registry's website under Questions and Answers at www.shareregistrars.uk.com/qa.shtml
What are SMS?
Seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) are currently forming hydrothermal deposits on the seafloor with high metal content of copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver. SMS deposits are associated with volcanic activity and are the modern day equivalent to the volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits which constitute world-class mines onshore.
Are they commercially viable?
SMS deposits represent an exciting new commodity asset class that has not yet been commercially developed anywhere in the world. SMS typically contain higher grades of base and precious metals than equivalent deposits mined commercially onshore around the world.
Why haven't they been mined before?
SMS deposits have only been researched for the past three decades. SMS are located on mid-ocean ridges; due to their remote locations in international waters at great water depths, they were considered uneconomic. Subsequent research in the shallower waters within the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of individual nations made SMS potentially economic. Developments by the offshore oil and gas and marine diamond mining industries have made marine technologies more accessible and cost effective at water depths of up to 2,500 metres.
What is the value of the resources?
SMS deposits are estimated to range in size from 250,000 tonnes to 18 million tonnes (Logachev field in the North Atlantic Ocean). Estimates of the contained (in-ground) metal values range from US$500-2000 per tonne. Preliminary cost estimates (undertaken in a scoping study commissioned by the company) for mining, lifting, transporting and treating SMS deposits range from US$250-350 per tonne.
When will Neptune's resources be defined?
Neptune submitted its first mining licence application (MLA) in July 2008 for an area withing the company's Kermadec licence PL39-195. Discussions with the New Zealand regulator Crown Minerals and other stakeholders are ongoing and will ensure a satisfactory conclusion to the application process.
Once the mining licence has been granted, activities can commence to define the SMS resource and conduct the baseline environmental impact assessment.
When will mining commence?
Neptune is working to engage operational partners to develop the Kermadec asset and other New Zealand SMS deposits. In May 2008, Neptune issued a competitive prequalification tender for international dredging and subsea engineering companies to build, own and operate (BOO) a contract mining system for the commercial development of SMS deposits. Neptune's goal is to achieve trial mining by 2011.
Does Neptune have the financial backing to see the company through the initial exploration phase?
Neptune is fully funded to the completion of front end engineering and design studies and an environmental impact assessment. The company will fund future operations, or its share of such operations, through a combination of equity and debt financing.
In June 2007, Newmont Mining Corporation invested £2.5 million in Neptune with plans to place staff and provide technical expertise to assist Neptune’s exploration activities.
What impact will SMS exploration and development have on marine life and the eco system?
Environmental disturbance caused by SMS exploration is minimal. Sampling and drilling of the deposits is conducted and controlled by remote controlled vehicles (ROV). There is no removal of overburden and sampling does not leave holes or rock piles behind. No actively venting SMS systems will be mined due to the populations of extremophile biota (vent fauna) around such sites – and because hydrothermal vent fluids are between 200 and 400oC.
The environmental impact of any future development would be considerably less than for land-based mining. There is very little evidence of marine life where inactive SMS deposits are found. The seabed will be left much as it was found. There will be no deep excavations. Very little waste and no infrastructure will be left behind.
Is underwater exploration dangerous?
The safety of employees and contractors is paramount. No exploration or development work will be undertaken in volcanically active areas. While SMS deposits are related to volcanic activity, the seafloors in which SMS are found are cooled and hardened magma in inactive areas.
All personnel remain at sea level, with underwater exploration carried out by remotely operated vehicles (ROV) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) operated by specialist personnel onboard ships. All activities cease in inclement weather.
Is there much competition in the SMS market?
Neptune Minerals is at the forefront of this new industry, being the first company to conduct a commercial SMS exploration drilling program, commencing in December 2005. Currently Neptune has little competition to develop SMS deposits, which gives it a real first mover advantage in making tenement applications. The only other company active in SMS exploration and development has commissioned a mining vessel with the intention of mining its Papua New Guinea areas in 2009.
"A company has filed an application for a deep sea gold mining expedition off the coast of New Zealand, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Neptune Minerals lodged the application for the A$622 million (£300 million) operation with the country's Ministry of Economic Development.
The gold is apparently located 300 kilometres to the north of East Cape.
According to the website, the company proposes to pull up thousands of tonnes of gold from the ocean to be consolidated onshore before being delivered to a smelter.
Campbell McKenzie, manager of Neptune Minerals, told Fairfax Media, Stuff.co.nz's parent site, that: "The study we have done so far indicates the margins are good there ... and ... we certainly think we can make it a commercial proposition."
Mining will focus on two deposits on Rumble II, an inactive underwater volcano.
If the application is approved it will be the world's second deep sea mining operation. "
NEPTUNE MINERALS
Neptune Minerals since the AGM has undergone a corporate restructure with board changes. This streamlining of operations is an effort by the Board to maintain focussed in the ultimate commercialisation of seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits by delivering value to its shareholders, whilst considering the current economic climate.
Neptune Minerals is a leading explorer and developer of precious- and base-metal seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits, with granted exploration licences totalling more than 261,146 km2 in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia and Vanuatu. Neptune has exploration applications covering 350,780 km2 pending in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Japan, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and Italy.
SMS are high-grade hydrothermal deposits rich in copper, zinc and lead with a high gold and silver content, found on the ocean floor. This new mining asset class has not been commercially developed anywhere in the world.
Neptune has undertaken three exploration programs over its tenements offshore New Zealand and participated in an international research program over its Italian applications. In 2007, Neptune discovered two new hydrothermally inactive SMS zones in the Kermadec area (New Zealand) over which the company lodged a mining licence application in July 2008
Neptune Minerals is a UK-registered public company founded in 1999 to explore, develop and commercialise seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits. Neptune's operations office is based in Sydney, Australia. The company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 10 October 2005 following a capital raising of £9.3 million. Shareholders of the company voted to delist Neptune from the AIM board effective 9 February 2009. The rationale behind delisting was to add value to the company using private funding and to reduce corporate costs during a time of global downturn. The company's activities and aims remain the same.
Neptune's business strategy is to deliver to its shareholders a focused, active and financially accountable SMS exploration company. Neptune will strive to be at the forefront of identifying and defining SMS deposits and developing the technologies required to commercialise those deposits.
To fulfil these ambitions, Neptune is undertaking the following activities:
* Ongoing new ventures acquisition
* Planning active exploration programs
* Locating joint venture partners and strategic investors
Delivery of these activities will be met by maintaining and developing:
* A clear and accountable strategy of sustainable exploration and commercialisation of SMS deposits
* Management working with outsourced expertise
* Stakeholder relationships in all facets of the business
The company's granted exploration licences and application areas cover known SMS occurrences and highly prospective zones in the territorial waters of nations in the western Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Neptune's immediate goal is to confirm the tonnage and grade of SMS mineral deposits to justify the major capital investment required to mine and transport SMS.
What are SMS Print E-mail
What are Seafloor Massive Sulphide (SMS) deposits?
Seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) are high-grade hydrothermal deposits rich in copper, zinc and lead with a high gold and silver content. Recovered SMS samples generally have significantly higher metal content than those mined onshore around the world.
SMS have been identified worldwide from extensive international research as current ore-forming processes associated with submerged tectonic margins and mid-ocean spreading margins.
Hydrothermal plumes (commonly referred to as “Black Smokers”) occur where metal-rich high-temperature fluids discharge from seafloor vents. Before the fluids enter the ocean, they are commonly between 300oC and 500oC and under high pressure. Under these conditions the superheated waters dissolve minerals from the surrounding rocks. As the fluid enters the near-freezing ocean water, the metals in solution precipitate out as sulphide particles and typically build chimneys packed with minerals. Fine particles from the chimney plumes fall to the ocean floor and build up as concentrated metalliferous deposits (SMS).
Over time the hydrothermal plumbing systems close off and migrate to new fracture systems on the seafloor. The challenge for commercial explorers is to find the cold, inactive SMS deposits on the seafloor. They cannot be traced by following the smoke plumes as happens in active SMS vent fields.
Ancient onshore sulphide ore deposits originally formed on the seafloor occur widely around the world and are termed volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits. SMS deposits are the modern day, currently-forming equivalent to VMS deposits that have been successfully developed into world-class mines onshore.
frequently asked questions Print E-mail
Who is Neptune Minerals?
Neptune Minerals is a leading explorer and developer of seafloor massive sulphides (SMS), a new class of high-grade base and precious metal deposits found on the ocean floor. Neptune has exclusive exploration rights to SMS prospective areas over 278,222 km2 in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia. Neptune is actively acquiring other SMS mineral rights primarily in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Can I buy/trade shares in Neptune Minerals?
On 9 February 2009, Neptune Minerals delisted from the London Stock Exchange. The company’s shares and warrants can no longer be traded on the London Stock Exchange, however can be traded off market on the basis of a willing buyer and seller. Existing shareholders who wish to dispose of their shareholding can contact the company for assistance at info@nepmins.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
If you are intending selling your shares then the following procedures should be followed:
Shares may only be transferred by completion of a stock transfer form. To complete the form you will need to insert the following information:
* The amount of consideration paid for the shares
* The full name of the company in which you hold shares
* The type of shares that you hold e.g. Ordinary Shares of 10p each
* The number of shares in words and figures that you are transferring
* Your signature and, if appropriate, the signatures of any joint holders
* The full names and address of the person to whom you are transferring the shares
Stamp duty is payable to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on transfers of shares at the rate of 0.5% of the amount of consideration paid for the shares rounded up to the next multiple of £5.00. If stamp duty is payable you will need to send the completed stock transfer form to:
Birmingham Stamp Office
9th Floor
City Centre House
30 Union Street
Birmingham
B2 4AR
England
Tel: +44 (0)845 603 0135
Fax: +44 (0)121 643 8381
You should then send the completed and stamped (if applicable) stock transfer form together with the covering share certificate to the office of our registrar for registration (Share Registrars Limited, Suite E, First Floor, 9 Lion and Lamb Yard, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7LL, England).
Share Registrars Limited will prepare a new share certificate in the name of the transferee and send you any balance certificate that may be required.
A copy of the share transfer form can be downloaded from the registry's website under Questions and Answers at www.shareregistrars.uk.com/qa.shtml
What are SMS?
Seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) are currently forming hydrothermal deposits on the seafloor with high metal content of copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver. SMS deposits are associated with volcanic activity and are the modern day equivalent to the volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits which constitute world-class mines onshore.
Are they commercially viable?
SMS deposits represent an exciting new commodity asset class that has not yet been commercially developed anywhere in the world. SMS typically contain higher grades of base and precious metals than equivalent deposits mined commercially onshore around the world.
Why haven't they been mined before?
SMS deposits have only been researched for the past three decades. SMS are located on mid-ocean ridges; due to their remote locations in international waters at great water depths, they were considered uneconomic. Subsequent research in the shallower waters within the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of individual nations made SMS potentially economic. Developments by the offshore oil and gas and marine diamond mining industries have made marine technologies more accessible and cost effective at water depths of up to 2,500 metres.
What is the value of the resources?
SMS deposits are estimated to range in size from 250,000 tonnes to 18 million tonnes (Logachev field in the North Atlantic Ocean). Estimates of the contained (in-ground) metal values range from US$500-2000 per tonne. Preliminary cost estimates (undertaken in a scoping study commissioned by the company) for mining, lifting, transporting and treating SMS deposits range from US$250-350 per tonne.
When will Neptune's resources be defined?
Neptune submitted its first mining licence application (MLA) in July 2008 for an area withing the company's Kermadec licence PL39-195. Discussions with the New Zealand regulator Crown Minerals and other stakeholders are ongoing and will ensure a satisfactory conclusion to the application process.
Once the mining licence has been granted, activities can commence to define the SMS resource and conduct the baseline environmental impact assessment.
When will mining commence?
Neptune is working to engage operational partners to develop the Kermadec asset and other New Zealand SMS deposits. In May 2008, Neptune issued a competitive prequalification tender for international dredging and subsea engineering companies to build, own and operate (BOO) a contract mining system for the commercial development of SMS deposits. Neptune's goal is to achieve trial mining by 2011.
Does Neptune have the financial backing to see the company through the initial exploration phase?
Neptune is fully funded to the completion of front end engineering and design studies and an environmental impact assessment. The company will fund future operations, or its share of such operations, through a combination of equity and debt financing.
In June 2007, Newmont Mining Corporation invested £2.5 million in Neptune with plans to place staff and provide technical expertise to assist Neptune’s exploration activities.
What impact will SMS exploration and development have on marine life and the eco system?
Environmental disturbance caused by SMS exploration is minimal. Sampling and drilling of the deposits is conducted and controlled by remote controlled vehicles (ROV). There is no removal of overburden and sampling does not leave holes or rock piles behind. No actively venting SMS systems will be mined due to the populations of extremophile biota (vent fauna) around such sites – and because hydrothermal vent fluids are between 200 and 400oC.
The environmental impact of any future development would be considerably less than for land-based mining. There is very little evidence of marine life where inactive SMS deposits are found. The seabed will be left much as it was found. There will be no deep excavations. Very little waste and no infrastructure will be left behind.
Is underwater exploration dangerous?
The safety of employees and contractors is paramount. No exploration or development work will be undertaken in volcanically active areas. While SMS deposits are related to volcanic activity, the seafloors in which SMS are found are cooled and hardened magma in inactive areas.
All personnel remain at sea level, with underwater exploration carried out by remotely operated vehicles (ROV) or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) operated by specialist personnel onboard ships. All activities cease in inclement weather.
Is there much competition in the SMS market?
Neptune Minerals is at the forefront of this new industry, being the first company to conduct a commercial SMS exploration drilling program, commencing in December 2005. Currently Neptune has little competition to develop SMS deposits, which gives it a real first mover advantage in making tenement applications. The only other company active in SMS exploration and development has commissioned a mining vessel with the intention of mining its Papua New Guinea areas in 2009.
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http://www.stockgumshoe.com/2010/07/gold-sands-the-discovery
Admin Sat Jul 10, 2010 3:01 pm
http://www.stockgumshoe.com/2010/07/gold-sands-the-discovery-of-a-lifetime.html
"And I told you that the list was narrowed down considerably by just the mention of an “underwater miner” … so who is it? This stock is … Nautilus Minerals (NUS in Toronto, NUSMF on the pink sheets)
And yes, I mentioned that the stock is already moving thanks to this teaser campaign — the stock is up 20% today on no other news. Heck, even the completely unrelated Nautilus Inc. is up a few percent today for no reason, perhaps just because of the similar name (that’s a guess — Nautilus Inc., ticker NLS, makes fitness equipment, just FYI).
Nautilus has been exploring in their zone offshore Papua New Guinea for many, many years, and they have identified several prospective areas of underwater volcanic sulfides that include high concentrations of copper, zinc, gold and silver — they were the first explorer to get a commercial exploration license for this kind of underwater project, in the area that they call their “Solwara” prospect, which encompasses a number of named sites (Solwara 1, 2, etc.). They also have other exploration tenements in the South Pacific, including offshore Tonga and New Zealand among a few other spots, but the Solwara project is clearly the basket they’re putting almost all their eggs in right now.
And it has been for a very, very long time — there are a number of quotes in this ad from mining experts and reputable sources, but almost all of them come from a New York Times article about this exploration project. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the source, of course, but it’s very much worth noting that the article ran in 1997, when Nautilus got these exploration licenses. This is also an industry — whether on dry land or underwater — that’s fueled by optimists. Here’s a quote from the Nautilus CEO from that article — 13 years ago — about what they saw as the “immediate future” …
“‘I see hundreds of millions of dollars worth of metal in the immediate future,’ said Julian Malnic, the company’s chief executive, who works in Sydney, where Nautilus has an Australian office. ‘And it won’t take us very long to get into the billions.’”
Well, I don’t know what “immediate” means to Nautilus, but for your friendly neighborhood Stock Gumshoe it certainly means “less than 13 years.” Julian Malnic, for what it’s worth, is no longer the CEO.
Nautilus’ first project that they hope to build, Solwara 1, is, at the very least, an interesting testing ground for what they hope will be a new generation of underwater mining equipment — they and their contractors have been modifying deepwater oil drilling equipment and underwater robotic vehicles to develop the capability to mine ore and transport it to the surface for processing. The technological challenge seems absolutely ridiculous — this isn’t something that happens to be under just a couple hundred feet of water but can be fairly easily reached, this project is almost a mile underwater, roughly similar to the depth at which BP is having a devil of a time capping their spewing well after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
So it’s no surprise that nothing is working as quickly as one might have hoped — just as it’s no surprise that the company suffers from the perpetual optimism of almost all of their peers in the mining world. I wrote about Nautilus a couple years ago when it was being teased by a different newsletter, and at the time they expected to begin production in about two years … which might have them producing ore right now. They did get the environmental permit back in January, but the application for the mineral lease and the approval of their development plans are still apparently pending (they were submitted about 18 months ago).
And when will they actually be producing? Well, they are doing more exploratory drilling this year, aimed at expanding and defining the resource and getting to a deeper depth, but it’s going to be a long, long, long time before they’re selling ingots — just last week they released their preliminary estimate for the offshore production system and the key take-aways I pulled from that release were that capital costs were estimated at about $400 million, and it would take 30 months to commence commercial production. And that’s after they get approval from Papua New Guinea for the mining lease and plans, and after the board approves the plan for the offshore production system … and it doesn’t include plans for how to process and concentrate the ore after they get it off the barges and onto land.
On the positive side, they do have a lot of cash — they have no debt and the company is currently valued at about $280 million, but they have $196 million in cash on hand. So that’s a good start, though of course it’s a fraction of the funding they’ll probably need to reach any kind of sustainable commercial level of production. They were in much the same position two years ago, though at the time it was closer to $300 million in cash, so over two years of continued exploration and permitting they’ve spent about $100 million. Given the groundbreaking nature of this project, even if we assume that the mining lease is issued as expected by the end of this year, one would have to guess that there will be technical problems and challenges that we can’t even imagine at this point.
So how do you figure out how much this is worth? That I can’t say, except that it’s probably worth something, so if it got down to closer to cash value I’d be significantly more interested (that’s about $1.25), but I find it very hard to believe any projections about when the actual mining project might start and when in the future they could possibly become profitable. And to be honest, the cash per share figure is really just a convenient valuation crutch, since they’re likely to spend all that cash and more over the next couple years and there’s not much chance they’d liquidate and send you a check for your share.
So as you might have imagined before we even started this little note today, yes, there is a catch — it’s great to hear about a hugely concentrated resource of gold and copper held by a little company with a plan to extract it, but the list of things Nautilus Minerals has to do that have never been done before in order to extract that ore is pretty daunting, even 13 years after they first started commercial exploration.
I’d guess that those institutional investors like Teck Cominco and Anglo American aren’t counting on this company adding to their bottom line anytime soon, and we’d probably all be best off if we thought similarly — I’m not against a lottery ticket every now and then, and there are catalysts including this Stansberry call next week and a possible mining lease being granted later this year, but they’re not going to be calling this lottery’s winning numbers for at least a few years… absent any big news from the company over the coming weeks, it seems unlikely that the 20% jump in the shares today or the bump we may see when Phase 1 releases its report and holds the conference call would be sustained for very long. "
"And I told you that the list was narrowed down considerably by just the mention of an “underwater miner” … so who is it? This stock is … Nautilus Minerals (NUS in Toronto, NUSMF on the pink sheets)
And yes, I mentioned that the stock is already moving thanks to this teaser campaign — the stock is up 20% today on no other news. Heck, even the completely unrelated Nautilus Inc. is up a few percent today for no reason, perhaps just because of the similar name (that’s a guess — Nautilus Inc., ticker NLS, makes fitness equipment, just FYI).
Nautilus has been exploring in their zone offshore Papua New Guinea for many, many years, and they have identified several prospective areas of underwater volcanic sulfides that include high concentrations of copper, zinc, gold and silver — they were the first explorer to get a commercial exploration license for this kind of underwater project, in the area that they call their “Solwara” prospect, which encompasses a number of named sites (Solwara 1, 2, etc.). They also have other exploration tenements in the South Pacific, including offshore Tonga and New Zealand among a few other spots, but the Solwara project is clearly the basket they’re putting almost all their eggs in right now.
And it has been for a very, very long time — there are a number of quotes in this ad from mining experts and reputable sources, but almost all of them come from a New York Times article about this exploration project. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the source, of course, but it’s very much worth noting that the article ran in 1997, when Nautilus got these exploration licenses. This is also an industry — whether on dry land or underwater — that’s fueled by optimists. Here’s a quote from the Nautilus CEO from that article — 13 years ago — about what they saw as the “immediate future” …
“‘I see hundreds of millions of dollars worth of metal in the immediate future,’ said Julian Malnic, the company’s chief executive, who works in Sydney, where Nautilus has an Australian office. ‘And it won’t take us very long to get into the billions.’”
Well, I don’t know what “immediate” means to Nautilus, but for your friendly neighborhood Stock Gumshoe it certainly means “less than 13 years.” Julian Malnic, for what it’s worth, is no longer the CEO.
Nautilus’ first project that they hope to build, Solwara 1, is, at the very least, an interesting testing ground for what they hope will be a new generation of underwater mining equipment — they and their contractors have been modifying deepwater oil drilling equipment and underwater robotic vehicles to develop the capability to mine ore and transport it to the surface for processing. The technological challenge seems absolutely ridiculous — this isn’t something that happens to be under just a couple hundred feet of water but can be fairly easily reached, this project is almost a mile underwater, roughly similar to the depth at which BP is having a devil of a time capping their spewing well after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
So it’s no surprise that nothing is working as quickly as one might have hoped — just as it’s no surprise that the company suffers from the perpetual optimism of almost all of their peers in the mining world. I wrote about Nautilus a couple years ago when it was being teased by a different newsletter, and at the time they expected to begin production in about two years … which might have them producing ore right now. They did get the environmental permit back in January, but the application for the mineral lease and the approval of their development plans are still apparently pending (they were submitted about 18 months ago).
And when will they actually be producing? Well, they are doing more exploratory drilling this year, aimed at expanding and defining the resource and getting to a deeper depth, but it’s going to be a long, long, long time before they’re selling ingots — just last week they released their preliminary estimate for the offshore production system and the key take-aways I pulled from that release were that capital costs were estimated at about $400 million, and it would take 30 months to commence commercial production. And that’s after they get approval from Papua New Guinea for the mining lease and plans, and after the board approves the plan for the offshore production system … and it doesn’t include plans for how to process and concentrate the ore after they get it off the barges and onto land.
On the positive side, they do have a lot of cash — they have no debt and the company is currently valued at about $280 million, but they have $196 million in cash on hand. So that’s a good start, though of course it’s a fraction of the funding they’ll probably need to reach any kind of sustainable commercial level of production. They were in much the same position two years ago, though at the time it was closer to $300 million in cash, so over two years of continued exploration and permitting they’ve spent about $100 million. Given the groundbreaking nature of this project, even if we assume that the mining lease is issued as expected by the end of this year, one would have to guess that there will be technical problems and challenges that we can’t even imagine at this point.
So how do you figure out how much this is worth? That I can’t say, except that it’s probably worth something, so if it got down to closer to cash value I’d be significantly more interested (that’s about $1.25), but I find it very hard to believe any projections about when the actual mining project might start and when in the future they could possibly become profitable. And to be honest, the cash per share figure is really just a convenient valuation crutch, since they’re likely to spend all that cash and more over the next couple years and there’s not much chance they’d liquidate and send you a check for your share.
So as you might have imagined before we even started this little note today, yes, there is a catch — it’s great to hear about a hugely concentrated resource of gold and copper held by a little company with a plan to extract it, but the list of things Nautilus Minerals has to do that have never been done before in order to extract that ore is pretty daunting, even 13 years after they first started commercial exploration.
I’d guess that those institutional investors like Teck Cominco and Anglo American aren’t counting on this company adding to their bottom line anytime soon, and we’d probably all be best off if we thought similarly — I’m not against a lottery ticket every now and then, and there are catalysts including this Stansberry call next week and a possible mining lease being granted later this year, but they’re not going to be calling this lottery’s winning numbers for at least a few years… absent any big news from the company over the coming weeks, it seems unlikely that the 20% jump in the shares today or the bump we may see when Phase 1 releases its report and holds the conference call would be sustained for very long. "
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