Panama vows to talk to First Quantum in coming months on shuttered mine
Panama’s new president has said that the mine may need to be temporarily reopened in order to responsibly prepare for a permanent closure.
Nautilus Minerals (TSX/AIM:NUS) shot up 8.5% to $0.76 in heavy volumes on Wednesday as investors anticipate a new direction for the embattled company following the departure of long-time CEO Stephen Rogers.
Nautilus has appointed Mike Johnston, as interim president and CEO. The Vancouver-based company has run into serious troubles at its flagship project off the Papua New Guinea coast, most recently with a petition landowners sent to the Government to cancel the firm’s seabed mining permit.
The company’s Solwara project – what would be the world’s first seabed mine – is already half built and was slated to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2013, but a dispute with the PNG government over ownership and funding issues with its partners building a surface vessel for the operation have the put the project on ice.
Shareholders in Nautilus – after today’s jump worth $149 million on the Toronto big board – have seen the value of their investments plummet by 62% since the company initiated a legal battle on June 1 over the copper-gold-silver project in the Bismarck Sea and the troubles with its German shipbuilders.
In September the firm closed a private placement at 90c that raised $33.9 million to continue to build its Seafloor Production System.
All the major shareholders of the company supported the offer – Oman’s MB Holdings increased its stake to just under 17%, Metalloinvest held at 21% while Anglo American maintained its interest at 11%.
Nautilus has not ruled out returning to the market for more money or finding JV partners to bring the project to completion.
