Large-Scale Mineral Exploration Program Advances to Phase 2 on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
July 02 2024 - 7:34PM
Island Passage Development Canada Limited (IPDC or the “Company”)
announces the commencement of Phase Two of its mineral exploration
program on the EL02 exploration license on Bougainville. Operations
are conducted through its PNG subsidiary, Island Passage
Development Limited (IPD), in partnership with Isina Resource
Holdings Limited (IRHL), a customary landowner company. The team is
jointly exploring the 261 km2 mineral property located in the Crown
Prince Range of south central Bougainville, approximately nine
kilometres along strike to the southeast from the historic Panguna
copper gold mine (Figure 1).
The first phase of exploration took place over a seven-week
period ending in early May. Highlights of the first campaign are as
follows:
- Relaunching of modern copper-gold
exploration on Bougainville
- Collected 83 stream sediment and pan
concentrate samples and 39 rock chip samples
- Examined 13 active or dormant
small-scale mining sites
- Employment of more than 35 people to
conduct and support the ongoing progam
- Training of multiple crews in
practical sampling and prospecting techniques
- Welcomed in 7 different villages,
which provided support and logistics for the team
Visits to the multiple small-scale mining sites and prospects
were highlights of the Phase One program. In these areas where
local people have panned gold and conducted limited excavation into
the hillsides, Company geologists identified and sampled multiple
quartz veins, breccia occurrences, and areas reflecting
hydrothermal alteration of varying intensity. New areas of interest
have also come to light, which is a benefit of classical
feet-on-the-ground exploration and prospecting.
Simeon Wina, Field Logistics Manager and site manager: “The
first June field sampling programme has been completed here up at
Kananainaa’ in the Isina area. All of these field crews are members
of Customary landowning clans. They were very excited and showed
great interest in learning about the new exploration process of
augur drilling to get deeper soil samples.
The crews are also learning new rules of discipline and how to
do things on time and we are looking forward to starting next week
in the nearby Enara area.”
For the first time ever, money is flowing into the Isina
community and having a good effect.”
Donald McInnes, Co-Founder and CEO of IPDC, commented on the
success of the Phase One campaign which marked the return of
systematic exploration to Bougainville, “We were overwhelmed with
the support and interest from our IRHL partners and members during
the March and April campaign. The hospitality and service provided
from the seven different local communities from which we staged our
work was outstanding. The rapid progress on the ground is only
possible with such support, and for that we are most grateful. We
have samples in the lab right now and are anxiously awaiting
receipt of results.”
The second phase of the exploration campaign is now underway,
and the Company anticipates work to continue for approximately
eight weeks (through mid to late July). Phase Two is focused on
regional exploration and the completion of systematic stream
sediment sampling over as much of the license as practicable. IPDC
estimates that its stream sediment database already covers
approximately 70% of the license, including limited sampling from
earlier campaigns, but sample density remains coarse in some
areas.
The objective of reconnaissance exploration at this scale is to
focus work into highly prospective target areas. Given the success
of Phase One in identifying copper showings and improving knowledge
of the artisanal gold mining occurrences, analytical results and
ongoing work are expected to focus the Company’s attention into
four or five targets for follow-up work. The next phase of work at
the target scale will include detailed mapping, geophysics and
geochemistry (both rock and soil sampling). The team is evaluating
regolith conditions and soil sampling methodology in several areas
as part of the Phase Two program.
Figure 1 - Map of Central Bougainville Showing
Historic Panguna Licenses and EL02
About Isina Resource Holdings Ltd. IRHL was
founded in 2009 with the directors drawn from the chiefs of the
nine major clans and their subclans in south Central Bougainville.
As the custodians of their customary clan-owned land, the forty
-three directors represent the customary landowner families. In an
exercise of sovereignty over their mineral rights, they applied for
and were granted EL02 over their lands. The licence boundary is
situated 9 km SE of the Panguna open pit along the Crown Prince
Range, and extends a further 26 km to the SE. The tenement contains
wholly within it the area known as P.A.7B which was one of the
seven BCL (Rio Tinto) exploration tenements that it held
surrounding Panguna.
About Island Passage Development Canada Ltd. A
private Canadian company purpose built in 2022 to facilitate the
finance, technical, commercial, and business development expertise
that will be necessary to drive exploration and development on
Bougainville. The Company is founded on the principle of
responsible resource development in partnership with indigenous and
customary landowners, and its leadership has a long track record of
success on multiple such ventures.
About Island Passage Development Ltd. The PNG
company is 100% owned by IPDC to bring exploration finance and
technical capacity from Canada to Bougainville to carry out
exploration on EL02.
For further information please go to islandpassage.ca
Or email Donald McInnes, CEO at donald@islandpassage.ca
Or follow IPDC on Facebook at (3) Island Passage Development |
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