Geopacific eyes major resource upside at Woodlark

• Geopacific discovers potential new gold zone at the Kamwak target within its 1.67Moz Woodlark gold project
• Further encouraging results have been returned from near-surface holes at Busai, Boscalo North and Great Northern targets
• Opportunity to extend current Kulumadau geotechnical hole to target the down-dip extension of main mineralised zone

Special Report: Geopacific Resources’ 30,000m drilling program at its 1.67Moz Woodlark Gold Project in PNG continues to deliver, with standout new intercepts at Kamwak hinting at a potentially significant discovery.

It comes as the company gears up to release its definitive feasibility study by year-end, supported by near-surface hits across multiple prospects and a boost to its register.

Geopacific Resources’ (ASX:GPR) aggressive reverse circulation and diamond drilling program returned standout intercepts from the Kamwak exploration target such as 7m at 2.48g/t gold from only 21m.

Other encouraging results returned from near-surface holes at the Busai deposit and Great Northern include 2=m at 11.4g/t from 9m and 4m at 2.92g/t gold from 145m respectively.

The company also sees the opportunity to extend the current Kulumadau geotechnical hole to target the down-dip extension of the main mineralised zone. This offers potential to extend mineralisation approximately 50m beyond the current pit design.

At the Kamwak zone, immediately along strike from Kulumadau, GPR sees similar geological characteristics with the main 711,000oz Kulumadau resource, including typical indicators of gold mineralisation on Woodlark Island.

“These initial results from Kamwak are highly encouraging and demonstrate the significant growth potential that remains at Woodlark,” chief executive officer James Fox said.

“With our 30,000m drill campaign underway, we are confident of delivering further resource growth beyond the current 1.67Moz base.”

30,000m drilling campaign in full swing

The current drilling campaign, which will extend well into 2026, is aimed at growing the Woodlark resource base beyond the existing 1.67Moz gold inventory.

Reverse circulation drilling has moved to the Woodlark King mining area to test the Little MacKenzie and Wayai Creek prospects, where previous trench and auger sampling produced highly encouraging surface results.

Meanwhile, diamond drilling is underway at the Great Northern deposit, with a second rig mobilised last month.

So far 54 drill holes have been completed across five key prospects, totalling 4567m as Geopacific targets both new discoveries and extensions of known deposits.

Geotechnical drilling is also in progress to support mining studies and infrastructure planning, including for the plant site as the company works towards releasing the DFS for Woodlark by the end of this calendar year.

Geopacific has also been buoyed by an independent study outlining Woodlark’s potential to host a porphyry-style mineralisation.

While porphyry deposits tend to have lower grades, their sheer size makes them a major source of gold, copper and silver.

This translates to the porphyry targets having the potential to significantly add to the mineral endowment of the district.

Aiding its advance to production, mid-tier gold miner St Barbara (ASX:SBM) has now become a strategic shareholder in GPR via a share swap with Patronus Resources (ASX:PTN) late last month.

St Barbara’s 14.4% interest brings significant local operating expertise to the company’s register given it operates the Simberi mine in PNG.

This article was developed in collaboration with Geopacific Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.