South Pacific Metals Adds Second Drill Rig to Ontenu Campaign
South Pacific Metals Adds Second Drill Rig to
Ontenu Campaign
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 18, 2026) -
South Pacific Metals Corp.
(TSXV: SPMC) (OTCQB: SPMEF) (FSE: 6J00) ("
SPMC
" or the "
Company
") announces the addition of
a second drill rig to accelerate testing of
multiple targets in the Ontenu Project area, part of the wider
Osena Project in the Kainantu District of Papua New Guinea, on the south west border of K92 Mining
Inc.'s Kainantu Gold Mine property. The rig is expected to arrive within two weeks.
Exploration Update:
Second drill rig to target initially the Onki Fault area, where previous surface results (see news
releases dated
November 11, 2025
and
October 6, 2025
) from multiple high-grade structures have
returned rock chip samples up to:
21.2% Cu, 214 g/t Ag, 0.41 g/t Au
18.1% Cu, 310 g/t Ag, 0.32 g/t Au
12.4% Cu, 131 g/t Ag, 1.21 g/t Au
0.2% Cu, 32 g/t Ag, 8.6 g/t Au
Drilling is on-going with Company-owned rig at Ontenu NE (southern area).
Drill targeting is underway at multiple structures and zones within the 5 x 3 km Ontenu Project Area.
Aiming for 5,000 m of drilling to be completed across multiple targets in 2026.
"Ontenu, and especially Ontenu NE, has revealed multiple targets from surface exploration across a
number of mineralised structures and zones over a broad area," said Timo Jauristo, CEO of the
Company. "In order to accelerate testing of these high-grade epithermal targets, the Company is adding
a second drill rig to the campaign. Our challenge is prioritizing the many targets. The observed gold and
base-metal association is characteristic of intermediate sulfidation epithermal deposits, similar to those
being mined by K92 Mining to the north of Ontenu."
Addition of Second Drill Rig at Onki Fault Area, Ontenu NE
The Company has contracted an experienced Papua New Guinea-based drilling company to commence
drilling initially at the Onki Fault area in Ontenu NE. This rig will operate alongside the Company's
existing rig already drilling in the Ontenu NE project area. Drilling and targeting are being prioritized at
both the Onki Fault and the Southern Area (Figure 2) at Ontenu NE.
The Onki Fault area at Ontenu NE was discovered by SPMC in 2025 by soil sampling and subsequent
geological mapping and rock-chip sampling. Multiple structures with high-grade copper and gold at
surface have now been identified (Figure 1). The Onki Fault consists of a mineralized fault zone striking
NNE-SSW and various N-S splay structures also hosting high-grade rock-chip samples. The main fault
is up to 5 m wide, which when combined with closely spaced splay structures indicates target zones of 5
to 20 m wide.
Figure 1. Onki Fault project area with drill pads
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Figure 2. Ontenu NE Project area showing rock chips and key target corridors
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About the Osena Regional Project
Covering 738 km² of strategic ground, the
Osena Project
is located southwest of and adjacent to K92
Mining's tenements that host the Kainantu Gold Mine (Figure 3). Priority prospects include Ontenu, a
large-scale cluster of intrusive gold-copper epithermal and porphyry and targets extending over 5 km x 3
km. The Ontenu Prospect is one of many occurring within a mineralized corridor that extends more than
40 km northeast across the Kainantu District.
Figure 3. Kainantu District with SPMC's Osena Project (SW) and Anga Project (NE) relative to
K92 Mining Inc.'s deposits
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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 Mining'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
(TSXV: SPMC), the OTCQB Marketplace (OTCQB: SPMEF) and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE:
6J00).
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information disclosed in this release has been compiled by Company
geologists and consultants and reviewed and approved by Darren Holden, BSc(Hons) (Geology), PhD,
FAusIMM, a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects
.
Dr. Holden is a Technical Advisor to the Company.
For further information please contact:
Michael Murphy, Executive Chair
or
Investor Relations
South Pacific Metals Corp.
Tel: +1-604-653-9464
Email:
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Information Caution
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 uncertainties
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: the arrival of the second drill rig and the
timing of such, drill operations, targeting, and planning, and further exploration 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+
(
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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/284228