South Pacific Metals Announces Osena Gold- Copper Project Land Package Expansion Bordering K92 Mining Operations in Papua New Guinea
South Pacific Metals Announces Osena Gold-
Copper Project Land Package Expansion
Bordering K92 Mining Operations in Papua
New Guinea
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 23, 2024) -
South Pacific Metals Corp.
(TSXV: 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 Au
1
. 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.
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10890/227475_a55f254394ec1b96_001full.jpg
"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:
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.
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