Island Passage Exploration Limited (IPX) has accelerated its exploration program at the EL02 project in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. The company and its customary landowner partner Isina Resource Holdings Ltd are conducting large-scale soil geochemical surveys and trenching campaigns at multiple copper-gold-molybdenum prospects across the 250 km2 license.
Strong Assay Results from Recent Sampling
While analyses are still pending for the current trenching campaign, IPX has received strong copper and gold results for many rock chip and channel samples in recent weeks. Ongoing soil sampling has significantly strengthened the anomaly at the Bara-Tangka target. A reconnaissance soil grid covering almost 5 square kilometres at the Enara target has also encountered coincident copper and gold anomalies. In total, IPX teams have collected 1,788 soil samples on the EL02 license.
Key channel sample results since January 1, 2026 include: an extended channel sample at Pivi Prospect to 55.0m at 0.55% Cu and 0.63 g/t Au; 8.0m at 1.26% Cu and 0.76 g/t Au at Enara Target; 10.0m at 0.30% Cu and 0.23 g/t Au at Pivi Prospect; 6.0m at 0.25% Cu and 0.20 g/t Au at Pivi Prospect; 3.0m at 0.39% Cu and 0.08 g/t Au at AK Prospect; and 2.0m at 0.48% Cu and 0.01 g/t Au at AK Prospect.
Significant rock samples from across the license include: 5.3% Cu and 0.05 g/t Au at the AK Prospect; 5.1% Cu and 0.04 g/t Au at the Siwato Prospect; 4.6% Cu and 1.9 g/t Au at the Enara Target; 3.2% Cu and 0.41 g/t Au at the AK Prospect; 2.5% Cu and 0.14 g/t Au at the Marai Target; 2.3% Cu and 0.33 g/t Au at the Siwato Prospect; 2.2% Cu and 0.66 g/t Au at the Idi Prospect; and 2.0% Cu and 2.15 g/t Au at the Idi Prospect.
Large Soil Anomalies and Trenching Underway
The large soil grid at the Bara-Tangka target now spans approximately 12 km2, including a strong copper anomaly (maximum 0.51%) covering more than 3 km2 – open to the north and west. This anomaly is reinforced by gold (maximum 0.140 g/t) and molybdenum (maximum 23 ppm). A new soil grid at the Enara target covers approximately 4.6 km2 at nominal 200m x 200m spacing, revealing a copper anomaly over almost 2 km2 – open to south and east.
IPX has completed approximately 560 metres of trenching within the Bara Tangka target corridor, and approximately 1,300 metres of additional trenching is underway. Geologists have completed extensive geologic mapping that has documented multi-phase intrusive rocks, exhibiting large-scale chlorite-epidote-albite-calcite-clay alteration, as well as intensive white mica and biotite-K-feldspar-magnetite alteration. An extensive area of contact metamorphism (hornfels) on the western margin of the intrusive complex hosts important channel sampling results from the Pivi Prospect.
Management Commentary on Exploration Progress
Patrick Highsmith, IPX President and Co-Founder, commented on the ongoing work program: “We believe the exploration results from the EL02 Project are highly significant because of the scale, grade, and style of copper-gold mineralization we are encountering. We have two large scale anomalies where coincident geophysical anomalies, copper-gold-molybdenum geochemistry, favorable structural intersections, and intense alteration and veining are aligned. Considering the prospectivity of Bougainville Island for gold-rich copper deposits, features such as the Bara-Tangka and Enara targets can’t be ignored. After initially discovering isolated high-grade copper-gold-molybdenum veins, we are bringing both targets into better focus with soil grids covering almost 18 km2 of previously unexplored ground. The strong soil anomaly near Tangka covers more than 3 km2, so we have commenced trenching in the heart of these large anomalies. These targets include both high-grade veins and disseminated copper, gold, and molybdenum. Potentially economic grades of porphyry-style mineralization are exposed at surface near Bara, where recent trenches have exposed more of the same style of alteration and mineralization. We are prioritizing assays from both trench and soil samples from key areas to delineate priority drill targets for later this year.”
