South Pacific Metals Successfully Completes Warden's Hearing on Renewal of Exploration Licence for Kili Teke Copper-Gold Project
South Pacific Metals Successfully Completes
Warden's Hearing on Renewal of Exploration
Licence for Kili Teke Copper-Gold Project
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2025) -
South Pacific Metals Corp.
(TSXV:
SPMC) (OTCQB: SPMEF) (FSE: 6J00)
("
SPMC
" or the "
Company
") is pleased to report the
successful completion of the Warden's Hearing for the renewal of Exploration License EL 2310, covering
the 253 km
2
concession comprising the
Kili Teke Copper-Gold Project
(the "
Project
"), located in
Papua New Guinea. The Project currently hosts an
Inferred Mineral Resource defined on only a
portion of the system: the Central Porphyry hosts 1.81 Moz Au, 802 kt Cu & 40 kt Mo contained
metal, in 237 Mt at 0.34% cu, 0.24 g/t Au &, 168 ppm Mo
1
(see
January 12, 2023, press release
and
technical report available on SEDAR+ under the Company's profile at
www.sedarplus.ca
).
The Warden's Hearing for EL 2310, which is a mandatory part of the renewal process for all exploration
licenses in Papua New Guinea, took place on March 11, 2025, with principal landowners present. The
meeting was conducted by senior Mineral Resources Authority Mining Warden Mr. Kopi Wapa and
attended by community stakeholders and landowners who were supportive of EL 2310's renewal and
plans for exploration programs under new SPMC management. Renewals of exploration licenses are for
two-year terms.
With road access to the tenement and a nearby airfield, the Project is situated in the Western Highlands
of Papua New Guinea within the world-class producing Papuan Fold Belt and just 40 km west of
Barrick/Zijin's Porgera Gold Mine and only 20 km northwest of the Mt. Kare Project, a historic gold mine.
The Project was acquired from Harmony Gold Exploration Limited ("
Harmony Gold
") in 2023, having
completed extensive exploration in and around a copper porphyry deposit (the "
Central Porphyry
").
This included extensive diamond drilling of approximately 36,000 m at an estimated cost if US$20
million within the deposit.
Most recently, results from the latest targeting exercise (see
October 1, 2024, press release
) have
revealed 10 new exploration targets proximal to the Central Porphyry with at least three mineralization
styles identified (see Figure 1), including bulk-tonnage copper-rich targets (Ieru Porphyry), Porgera-style
gold-rich targets (Ridge Gold Area), and high grade skarn as evidenced by
historical drilling that
returned 12.98% Cu, 11.75 g/t Au and 21.07 g/t Ag over 7.8 m within 54 m @ 2.1% Cu, 1.82 g/t
Au, 3.87 g/t Ag
(from 878 m depth down hole)
2
.
The Company is currently focused on landowner mapping and community engagement with the intention
of commencing on-ground exploration that prioritizes additional discoveries of high-grade skarn and
Porgera-style gold. The Company remains committed to responsible exploration, ensuring that all
activities are conducted in a safe, ethical, and environmentally sustainable manner.
Figure 1:
Map illustrating the Kili Teke Cu-Au Porphyry Complex, recently identified sub-surface
targets and the 2.5 km x 1.5 km Au-Te-As surface geochemical footprint.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10890/246516_db4e4fe4d4dfd995_001full.jpg
About the Kili Teke Project
The
Kili Teke Project
consists of a 253 km
2
land package located approximately 40 km west of the
Porgera Gold Mine, in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The Project is 100% owned by the
Company and was acquired from Harmony Gold in late 2023. The majority of the previous exploration
work completed by Harmony Gold focused on advancing the Central Porphyry to resource stage. This
deposit hosts an
Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.81 Moz Au, 802 kt Cu & 40 kt Mo contained
metal, in 237 Mt at 0.34% cu, 0.24 g/t Au &, 168 ppm Mo
1
. Harmony Gold also conducted regional
exploration on the wider intrusive complex including mapping, rock chips, soil geochemistry, airborne
geophysics (magnetics and radiometrics) and a small amount of trenching and drilling. There remains
exciting potential for further Cu-Au porphyry, skarn and alkalic-epithermal mineralization on the Project.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information disclosed in this release has been 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 across 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
(TSXV: 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:
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, future exploration or
development programs, and any results therefrom and effect thereof. 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.
1
For more information on the Kili Teke mineral resource please refer to the independent National
Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Kili Teke Cu-Au Project, Papua New Guinea, prepared by
Graeme J Fleming, B. App. Sc., MAIG, and dated 18 November 2022. Mr. Fleming is a “qualified
person” under NI 43-101 and is an independent consultant to the Company. Reference should be made
to the full text of the Technical Report, which is available for review on SEDAR+ at
www.sedarplus.ca
.
2
Refer to Harmony Gold news release dated April 13, 2016
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/246516