Taruga strikes high-grade gold at new PNG project

Taruga Minerals has received encouraging independent assay results from rock chip sampling at its Gwamogwamo prospect, which forms part of the company’s newly optioned East Normanby gold project in Papua New Guinea.

The samples were collected in April this year as part of Taruga’s due diligence and were submitted for laboratory analysis in November.

The results confirm previously reported sightings of high-grade gold and copper mineralisation within a 1.5-kilometre trend littered with massive sulphides exposed in gossans and mineralised outcrops.

The three best rock chips included one sample running at 12.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.25 per cent copper. A second grab lit up with 4.8 per cent copper, while a third graded at 3.7g/t gold.

A further four samples delivered gold grades in the range of 1.3-2g/t gold, with one of those samples also reporting 1.7 per cent copper.

The project’s credentials have been further bolstered by data from historical trenches at Gwamogwamo. One costean delivered a hefty 155-metre intercept grading 0.6g/t gold and 0.5 per cent copper.

A second trench delivered 40m at 2g/t gold and 0.8 per cent copper, including 10m at 3.3g/t gold and 2 per cent copper, while a third trench sample came in with 68m at 1.4 g.t gold and 0.7 per cent copper.

Limited historical drilling results also offers strong shallow validation, with one hole intersecting 9m at 1.3 per cent copper and 0.6g/t gold from 7m depth, while another hole delivered a convincing 4m at 4.4g/t gold from surface.

These early rock chip results are a great start to our exploration campaign in PNG and the validation of historical work and grades at surface. Gwamogwamo is one of our targeted drilling prospects for the 2026 exploration campaign.

On 15 December, Taruga announced it had secured a 12-month option to acquire 100 per cent of two advanced gold and copper projects in Papua New Guinea. The total package included the East Normanby gold project on Normanby Island off the southeastern coast of the PNG mainland and the Kol Mountain copper-gold project on New Britain Island.

East Normanby spans 491 square kilometres across three exploration licences, covering the entire eastern extremity of Normanby Island.

The project hosts the majority of a 40-kilometre-long low-sulphidation epithermal gold district, including the Gwamogwamo prospect and the Weioko gold deposit.

The Kol Mountain project covers 123 square kilometres within a single granted exploration licence on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Sea, north of Normanby Island. The project contains a well-defined porphyry and skarn complex with multiple prospects.

The company says its next steps at East Normanby include validating historical trench and drillhole locations using modern GPS, reprocessing available geophysical data and acquiring satellite imagery. The company then plans to kick off a field program in the first quarter of next year to expand geochemical datasets and generate priority drill targets.

Taruga’s entry into Papua New Guinea has added compelling high-grade gold-copper exposure to its West Australian and South Australian mineral portfolios, which comprise six projects covering gold, copper, base metals and rare earths opportunities.

The confirmation of historical results at Gwamogwamo underscores the prospectivity of the newly optioned ground, with systematic exploration now underway to unlock further potential.

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