Isina Resource Holdings will have another five years to explore in Bougainville following the granting of an exploration licence extension.
The company’s licence spans 250km2 in the Crown Prince Range of Central Bougainville. Just 9km away to the southeast is the historic Panguna copper-gold mine.
Since beginning exploration in 2017, Isina has identified potential for economic mineralisation in the form of porphyry copper-gold mineralisation. The finding is similar to that of Panguna, and contains epithermal gold-silver mineralisation.
“I believe in working together, in collaboration with the government, landowners and investors and I congratulate Isina Resource Holdings Limited for meeting the conditions of the licence and the extension application requirements,” Autonomous Bougainville Government President Ishmael Toroama said.
Isina representatives Peter Mouo, Steven Topesi, Sam Kauona, Glenn Tovirika, and Aloysius Sinka were on-hand to receive the extended licence. These representatives are also key Central Bougainville veteran leaders.
The occasion was also witnessed by members of the Bougainville House of Representatives, a significant positive show of support for Isina and the extended licence.
The extension follows a Land Access and Compensation agreement (LACA) signed between the Taonita-Teop landowners and Bougainville Minerals Investment (BMI) earlier in March.
Required under the Bougainville Mining Act 2015, the LACA allows BMI to use the land for exploration and is part of the requirement to receive a mining licence.
The LACA follows the exploration approval given to BMI by the Bougainville Executive Council (BEC) in November 2024.
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