Vancouver, B.C. – October 23, 2024 – South Pacific Metals Corp. (TSX-V: SPMC; OTCQB: SPMEF; FSE: 6J00) (“SPMC” or the “Company”), an emerging gold-copper exploration company operating across Papua New Guinea, is pleased to announce the expansion of key Kainantu Gold District holdings by an additional 112 km² at its Osena Gold-Copper Project immediately south of K92.
Key Expansion Highlights:
- Exploration Licence Application 2850 (“ELA 2850”) acquired covering 112 km² prospective land, expanding the Osena Gold-Copper Project to the east immediately south of K92 Mining, which operates the Kainantu Gold Mine;
- NW-SE trending copper-gold mineralized trends may extend onto the new ELA; and
- Total land package at Osena Project climbs to 738 km², as neighbouring K92 Mining announces significant economic upswing and enhanced Kainantu Gold Mine Integrated Development Plan.
“We’re pleased to be in a position to introduce ELA 2850 into our bigger picture plans for Osena. The property presents a unique and timely opportunity for South Pacific Metals to add to our dominant land position at the core of one of the world’s prime regions for gold and copper exploration,” said Cathy Fitzgerald, President and Chief Geologist. “The Company has meticulously consolidated over two decades of historical geological data from multiple sources to strategically focus on near-term opportunities, and we aim to follow Osena’s mineralized corridors and advance targets through community relations and comprehensive field work. Because of these efforts, we’ll soon be in a position to finalize first-phase drilling plans and set these in motion.”
About ELA 2850
Located immediately south of K92 Mining’s tenements, ELA 2850 lies directly east of the Ontenu Cu-Au Prospect and west of the Mt. Victor gold district, which hosts the formerly operating Mt. Victor Gold Mine. Mt. Victor operated between 1987-1990, producing 21,000 gold ounces at a grade of 3.53 g/t Au1. This district also hosts several epithermal gold and copper-gold porphyry prospects. The new ELA remains largely unexplored but has geological and geophysical signatures that indicate there is the potential for mineralization.
News of the Osena Project expansion comes on the heels of K92 Mining introducing a new Integrated Development Plan and significantly enhanced economic outlook for its Kainantu Gold Mine, as well as South Pacific Metals’ recent announcement detailing the identification of multiple large-scale Copper-Gold targets at its Ontenu Cu-Au Prospect at Osena.
Figure 1: Osena Project ELA 2850 – a 13 km by 9 km region that has seen little historical exploration yet hosts similar aged intrusive rocks at the Mt. Victor gold district and interpreted NE structures that parallel the Kainantu Transfer Zone, a major control on mineralization in the district.
“Papua New Guinea is a world-class geological treasure and home to one of the most mineral-rich regions on the planet. As evidenced by our K92 neighbours’ latest announcement, including numerous expansions and upgraded gold reserve estimates, it’s clear that area production is poised to hit significantly higher levels,” said Michael Murphy, Executive Chair. “PNG’s undeniable mineral potential is becoming more widely known, and right in the heart of all this sits our Osena and Anga Projects, essentially sandwiching K92’s operations along our shared 45 km mineralized corridor. Given the proximity to not only our own exploration across Osena but also to K92’s high-grade gold production program, ELA 2850 is a smart district addition.”
1 Refer to The Mount Victor Gold Mine, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, PNG Geology, Exploration and Mining Conference, Rabaul, June 1991 Conference Proceedings Abstract.
About the Osena Project
Covering 738 km² of strategic ground, the Osena Project is located southwest of and adjacent to K92’s tenements that host the Kainantu Gold Mine. Priority prospects include Ontenu, a copper-gold porphyry and epigenetic gold prospect with exposed porphyritic diorite intrusive phases hosting supergene copper minerals and overprinted by a later gold mineralized event associated. The Ontenu Prospect is one of many occurring within a highly mineralized corridor that extends more than 40 km northeast across the Kainantu District.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information disclosed in this release has been compiled by Company geologists reviewed and approved by Darren Holden, Ph.D., FAusIMM, a “Qualified Person” as defined under the Canadian Institute of Mining National Instrument 43-101, 2014 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Dr. Holden is a Technical Advisor to the Company.
About South Pacific Metals Corp.
South Pacific Metals Corp is an emerging gold-copper exploration company operating in the heart of Papua New Guinea’s proven gold and copper production corridors. With an expansive 3,100 km² land package and four transformative gold-copper projects contiguous with major producers K92 Mining, PanAust and neighbouring Barrick/Zijin, new leadership and experienced in-country teams are prioritizing thoughtful and rigorous technical programs focused on boots-on-the-ground exploration to prioritize discovery across its portfolio projects: Anga, Osena, Kili Teke and May River.
Immediately flanking K92’s active drilling and gold producing operations to the northeast and southwest, SPMC’s Anga and Osena Projects are located within the high-grade Kainantu Gold District – each having the potential to host similar-style lode-gold and porphyry copper-gold mineralization as that present within K92’s tenements. Kili Teke is an advanced exploration project situated only 40 km from the world-class Porgera Gold Mine and hosts an existing Inferred Mineral Resource with multiple opportunities for expansion and further discovery. The May River Project is located adjacent to the world-renowned Frieda River copper-gold project, with historical drilling indicating potential for a significant, untapped-gold mineralized system. SPMC common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX.V: SPMC), the OTCQB Marketplace (OTCQB: SPMEF) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: 6J00).
For further information please contact:
Michael Murphy, Executive Chair
or
Investor Relations
South Pacific Metals Corp.
Tel: +1-604-653-9464
Email: info@southpacificmetals.ca
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Information
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of SPMC. In making the forward-looking statements, SPMC has applied certain assumptions that are based on information available to the Company, including SPMC’s strategic plan for the near and mid-term. There is no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements may involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of the Company. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because of the context of the statements, including such words as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “plans”, “may”, “estimates”, or words of a similar nature. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: formulation of plans for drill testing; and the success related to any future exploration or development programs. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic, regulatory or other unforeseen uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, without limitation: success of the Company’s projects, prices for metals remaining as estimated, currency exchange rates remaining as estimated, availability of funds for the Company’s projects, capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates, prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation), no labour-related disruptions, no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production, all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner, and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in gold prices, fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation), fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar), operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mineral exploration, inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards, the Company’s ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner, changes in laws, regulations and government practices, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations, legal restrictions relating to mineral exploration, increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel, the availability of additional capital, title matters and the additional risks identified in the Company’s filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ (available at www.sedarplus.ca). Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described, or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s property.
