Augustus Minerals (ASX:AUG) secures Vanapa River tenement in PNG

Augustus Minerals has taken a decisive step in expanding its Papua New Guinea presence, lodging an application for Exploration Licence ELA2955 in the Vanapa River region north of Port Moresby.

The move positions the company within one of the world’s most productive gold and copper belts and reflects its broader commitment to advancing high potential assets across multiple jurisdictions.

Highlights

• Augustus Minerals has applied for ELA2955 in the Vanapa River region, 35 kilometres north of Port Moresby.

• The 1,906 square kilometre area lies approximately 40 kilometres along strike from the Tolokuma gold mine.

• The tenement sits within the 2,300-kilometre New Guinea Metallogenic Belt, home to major gold and copper deposits including Porgera, Frieda River and Wafi-Golpu.

• Artisanal alluvial gold extraction continues across the application area.

• The licence application follows a site visit involving Augustus personnel and local landowners.

• Augustus continues to progress its Mt Kare licence application and has recently conducted multiple landowner awareness meetings.

The ELA2955 application anchors Augustus at the southern end of the prolific New Guinea Metallogenic Belt, a corridor that stretches more than 2,000 kilometres and hosts some of the world’s largest mineral systems.

The region has long attracted explorers for its combination of high grade epithermal gold vein systems and deeper porphyry copper-gold potential, factors that continue to draw corporate interest despite the logistical complexities of PNG operations.

ELA2955 covers a substantial land area of 1,906 square kilometres and is located 40 kilometres south east along strike from the Tolokuma gold mine, which has historically produced from high grade fissure vein systems.

The metallogenic belt contains numerous large scale deposits including Frieda River, Porgera, Hidden Valley and Wafi Golpu, illustrating the geological scale and variety of mineralisation that can occur along its length.

Within the Tolokuma to Mt Tafa region, known deposits include low sulphidation epithermal veins hosted within volcanic rocks, with typical features such as narrow fissure veins, quartz sulphide assemblages, structural breccias and surface oxidation.

The company’s recent three day site visit to the Vanapa River region was undertaken with local landowners, reflecting the customary significance of land access in PNG.

The visit included inspection of artisanal alluvial workings along the river and its tributaries, and although the primary source of the alluvial gold was not identified, Augustus elected to submit a broad licence application to secure the area for systematic exploration.

The company continues to advance its separate licence application at Mt Kare, acquired through its purchase of ACM Contract Mining PNG.

Augustus notes that it is the only ASX listed entity currently under consideration for the Mt Kare project and has broadened its executive capability to support the permitting pathway.

During November, the company and its PNG subsidiary held multiple awareness meetings with executives of the Hela and Enga provincial landowner groups as part of the review process conducted by the Minerals Resource Authority and Mining Advisory Council.

Augustus Minerals CEO James Warren said,

“We are very pleased to have been invited into the Hira Koiari District by the local landowners and presents Augustus with a rare and unique opportunity to conduct true frontier exploration in an area synonymous with Giant orebodies.”

Augustus is seeking to consolidate a portfolio that spans Western Australia and Papua New Guinea, with the Vanapa River application adding exposure to a region renowned for producing large epithermal and porphyry systems.

With ongoing engagement with local communities and the continued progression of the Mt Kare application, the company has positioned itself to participate in one of the most active exploration jurisdictions in the Asia Pacific region.

Please note the following valuable information before using this website. 

Independent Research 

Market Open Australia is intended to be used only for educational and informative purposes, and any information on this website should not be taken as investment advice or guidance. It is important to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions, which should be based on your own investment needs and personal circumstances. Any investment decisions based on information contained on this website should be taken in line with independent financial advice from a qualified professional or should be independently researched and verified.