1,788 soil samples and 560 metres of trenching completed
Bougainville drilling plans are moving closer at the EL02 copper-gold-molybdenum project in Papua New Guinea, where Island Passage Exploration has collected 1,788 soil samples and completed about 560 metres of trenching.
The work covers a 250 km2 licence in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Island Passage Exploration and customary landowner partner Isina Resource Holdings Ltd are running large soil geochemical surveys and trenching across several prospects. Another 1,300 metres of trenching is now under way.
Recent results reported since January 1, 2026 include an extended channel sample at Pivi of 55.0 metres at 0.55% copper and 0.63 g/t gold. That interval had previously been reported as 47.0 metres at 0.56% copper and 0.49 g/t gold.
Elsewhere, Enara returned 8.0 metres at 1.26% copper and 0.76 g/t gold. Pivi also produced 10.0 metres at 0.30% copper and 0.23 g/t gold, plus 6.0 metres at 0.25% copper and 0.20 g/t gold. AK returned 3.0 metres at 0.39% copper and 0.08 g/t gold, and 2.0 metres at 0.48% copper and 0.01 g/t gold.
Bara-Tangka copper anomaly
At Bara-Tangka, the soil grid now spans about 12 km2. It includes a copper anomaly with a maximum of 0.51% over more than 3 km2, and the anomaly remains open to the north and west. Gold reached 0.140 g/t and molybdenum reached 23 ppm in the same area.
Meanwhile, a new soil grid at Enara covers about 4.6 km2 on 200 metre by 200 metre spacing. That work outlined a copper anomaly across almost 2 km2, open to the south and east. The company also described a reconnaissance soil grid at Enara covering almost 5 square kilometres with coincident copper and gold anomalies.
Rock chip results also showed strong grades across the licence. AK returned 5.3% copper and 0.05 g/t gold, while Siwato returned 5.1% copper and 0.04 g/t gold. Enara delivered 4.6% copper and 1.9 g/t gold.
Further rock samples included 3.2% copper and 0.41 g/t gold at AK, 2.5% copper and 0.14 g/t gold at Marai, and 2.3% copper and 0.33 g/t gold at Siwato. Idi returned 2.2% copper and 0.66 g/t gold, plus 2.0% copper and 2.15 g/t gold.
IPX geologists have also completed extensive geological mapping across EL02. That mapping identified multi-phase intrusive rocks, large-scale chlorite-epidote-albite-calcite-clay alteration, and stronger white mica and biotite-K-feldspar-magnetite alteration. The team also mapped an extensive contact metamorphism, or hornfels, area on the western margin of the intrusive complex.
Current trench and soil assays are still pending from the latest campaign. However, the recent channel, rock and soil results have strengthened targets at Bara-Tangka, Enara, Pivi, AK, Siwato, Marai and Idi as Island Passage Exploration pushes toward drilling later in 2026.
