Augustus Minerals is advancing a licence application at Mt Kare in Enga province, bringing it within arms reach of the historic Porgera gold mine.
The company, through wholly-owned subsidiary ACM Contract Mining PNG (ACMPNG), is in talks with landowners in the region, as well as governmental departments and other key stakeholders.
It currently holds a “second-in-time” licence application for the site, just 15km from the Porgera gold deposit.
Mt Kare is an alkali epithermal gold deposit, with potential bonanza-grade zones.
The company is already planning the rapid development of an underground audit, subject to gaining access. An aggressive drilling program and advanced studies on the site’s structural geometry are also in the works, with the view of the company better understanding and more effectively targeting the high-grade zones.
Augustus Minerals executive chair Brian Rodan said he had personal history with the Mt Kare project and was excited to be taking it to the next stage.
“I was managing director of ACMPNG in 2012–13 when it was awarded a contract to carry out Stage 1 underground exploration drilling and mine development at the Mt Kare gold project,” he said. “ACMPNG was responsible for assisting with the mine design and provided equipment and expertise to construct the Mt Kare portal and underground mine.
“Augustus has positioned itself as an applicant for the Mt Kare project through the purchase of ACMPNG, which holds a second in time exploration licence application, and thus holds an opportunity to potentially secure future access to the Mt Kare gold project.”
Augustus Minerals is a Perth-based, ASX-listed exploration company with a portfolio of projects across Western Australia.
Its shares have been suspended from trading this week, pending advice on a planned capital raising.
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