K92 Mining Announces Significant Strike Extension to the South at Arakompa and Discovery of Potential Thick High-Grade Zone

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. ("K92” or the "Company”) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) is pleased to announce its third set of drilling results consisting of 19 holes for total results of 30 holes released to date from its maiden surface diamond drill program at Arakompa, located approximately 4.5 km from the Kainantu Gold Mine Process Plant in Papua New Guinea. K92's maiden drill program at Arakompa represents the first drilling on the target in 32 years, with limited historic drilling completed, comprising 18 holes totaling 1.8 km of mostly shallow drilling.

• Potential thick high-grade zone discovered from two holes stepping out 250 metres along strike to the south, encountering both high-grade and bulk mineralized zones (see Figures 1-2 & 4), with:
  • KARDD0029 recording 20.60 m at 9.87 g/t gold equivalent ("AuEq”)⁽²⁾ (8.90 g/t Au, 29 g/t Ag, 0.38% Cu), including 10.70 m at 14.97 g/t AuEq (13.81 g/t Au, 25 g/t Ag, 0.53% Cu).
  • Located ~60 metres up-dip, KARDD0025 recording 23.60 m at 6.57 g/t AuEq⁽²⁾ (5.89 g/t Au, 8 g/t Ag, 0.35% Cu) including 12.00 m at 11.16 g/t AuEq (10.49 g/t Au, 11 g/t Ag, 0.33% Cu). A separate vein intersection of 2.90 m at 11.47 g/t AuEq (11.26 g/t Au, 9 g/t Ag, 0.06% Cu) was also recorded.
  • Drilling at KARDD0029 is underway for the remainder of hole.

• Significant extension of bulk tonnage strike by ~250 metres to the south to a total interpreted strike now exceeding 750 metres, from long step-out drill holes, with highlights including:
  • KARDD0025 (~250 m southern step-out along strike): 100.80 m at 1.92 g/t AuEq (1.71 g/t Au, 3 g/t Ag, 0.10% Cu)
  • KARDD0030 (~125 m southern step-out along strike): 111.62 m at 1.53 g/t AuEq (1.35 g/t Au, 4 g/t Ag, 0.08% Cu)

• Multiple high-grade intersections encountered. Drill highlights in addition to the highlights from KARDD0025 and 29 above, include:
  • KARDD0018: 1.30 m at 35.72 g/t AuEq (35.29 g/t Au, 17 g/t Ag, 0.14% Cu) and 

                            4.00 m at 6.59 g/t AuEq (6.15 g/t Au, 30 g/t Ag, 0.04% Cu)

  • KARDD0030: 5.40 m at 5.88 g/t AuEq (5.01 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag, 0.43% Cu) and
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                            5.53 m at 4.04 g/t AuEq (3.38 g/t Au, 13 g/t Ag, 0.31% Cu) and

                            1.62 m at 33.52 g/t AuEq (33.38 g/t Au, 4 g/t Ag, 0.05% Cu) and

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                            1.40 m at 30.99 g/t AuEq (30.77 g/t Au, 13 g/t Ag, 0.04% Cu)

  • KARDD0013: 7.10 m at 5.69 g/t AuEq (5.47 g/t Au, 13 g/t Ag, 0.04% Cu)
  • KARDD0028: 7.00 m at 5.26 g/t AuEq (5.04 g/t Au, 10 g/t Ag, 0.06% Cu)
  • KARDD0023: 2.00 m at 14.60 g/t AuEq (12.44 g/t Au, 60 g/t Ag, 0.88% Cu)
  • KARDD0015: 4.20 m at 6.55 g/t AuEq (6.08 g/t Au, 12 g/t Ag, 0.20% Cu) and

                            3.10 m at 5.11 g/t AuEq (5.07 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag, 0.01% Cu)

  • KARDD0020: 2.70 m at 6.61 g/t AuEq (4.28 g/t Au, 175 g/t Ag, 0.09% Cu)
  • KARDD0014: 1.40 m at 11.51 g/t AuEq (11.06 g/t Au, 19 g/t Ag, 0.13% Cu)

• K92 has defined a substantial interpreted bulk tonnage zone extending over 750 meters, with bulk tonnage intersections reported to date recording an average true thickness of 56 meters and mineralization reaching a vertical depth of up to 350 meters. In addition to the bulk intersections at KARD0025 and KARDD0030, highlights include:
  • KARDD0018: 57.0 m at 1.58 g/t AuEq (1.47 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag, 0.02% Cu)
  • KARDD0028: 45.9 m at 1.88 g/t AuEq (1.72 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag, 0.06% Cu)
  • KARDD0015: 32.7 m at 2.19 g/t AuEq (1.97 g/t Au, 4 g/t Ag, 0.10% Cu)
  • KARDD0013: 36.9 m at 1.53 g/t AuEq (1.40 g/t Au, 3 g/t Ag, 0.04% Cu)
  • KARDD0020: 33.9 m at 1.10 g/t AuEq (0.73 g/t Au, 22 g/t Ag, 0.06% Cu)
  • KARDD0023: 32.4 m at 1.00 g/t AuEq (0.83 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag, 0.06% Cu) and

                            19.6 m at 1.04 g/t AuEq (0.72 g/t Au, 8 g/t Ag, 0.14% Cu)

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  • KARDD0027: 23.3 m at 1.05 g/t AuEq (0.98 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag, 0.02% Cu)
  • KARDD0016: 19.7 m at 1.06 g/t AuEq (0.73 g/t Au, 11 g/t Ag, 0.11% Cu)
  • KARDD0019: 17.2 m at 1.12 g/t AuEq (0.67 g/t Au, 15 g/t Ag, 0.17% Cu)

• Exploration expanded from one drill rig at the beginning of 2024, to currently four drill rigs at Arakompa. Mineralization is open along strike, at depth and only approximately 40% of the +1.7 km mineralized corridor strike length has been drill tested to date by K92, defined from rock chips, historic drilling and local workings (see Figure 1).
• K92 is targeting a maiden mineral resource estimate for Arakompa by Q1 2025.

  Notes:

  (1)   Drill highlights presented above are core lengths (not true widths).

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  (2)   Gold equivalent (AuEq) exploration results are calculated using longer-term commodity prices with a copper price of US$4.00/lb, a silver price of US$22.5/oz and a gold price of US$1,750/oz.

Later this month, we are also very excited to be hosting a large group of analysts and investors on site to showcase the significant progress made to date in multiple areas, including at Arakompa, in addition to the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Papua New Guinea.”

Chris Muller, K92 Executive Vice President, Exploration, stated, "Progressive drilling at Arakompa has demonstrated continuation of multiple lodes within the already substantial vein system. Drilling so far has tested less than half of the +1.7km strike length of the Arakompa corridor and to a maximum depth of 400m, representing just a small fraction of the presumed expansive set of mineralized veins.

The high grades and appreciable widths, as well as the characteristics and composition, of the Arakompa veins have all the hallmarks of the Kora consolidated veins and are equally as prospective. Four rigs are drilling on a prescribed spacing at Arakompa, on track to define a maiden modern resource estimate early in 2025.”

Arakompa Vein System Background

The Arakompa project is interpreted to be an intrusive related gold-copper-silver epithermal vein system with similarities to the producing Kora and Judd vein systems. A significant difference at Arakompa is that it is hosted in tonalite to dioritic rock, whereas Kora and Judd are hosted predominantly in metasediments (phyllite).

Mineralization at Arakompa is in pronounced vein lodes but is also widespread across a very broad envelope, hosted in strongly altered tonalite and diorite. This has been interpreted to have resulted from collapsing argillic and advanced argillic alteration, and the propylitic alteration of the basement tonalite are interpreted to originate from the intrusion of a large magmatic porphyry body. Phyllic alternation appears to be associated with gold mineralization, providing a large halo (at least 100 m wide) around the vein corridor. There has likely been an upwelling of phyllic alteration from the porphyry into the high-grade veins. This has resulted in mineralization between the veins, providing the potential for bulk mining.

Multi-stage mineralizing events with several phases of quartz-sulphide development are apparent within the veins themselves. The sequence of early quartz deposited from a mesothermal dilute fluid followed by pyrite-copper-gold ± Bi-Te-Pb-Zn-Sn mineralization at Arakompa has many similarities to the same events encountered at Kora and Judd.

The main sulphides are pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite and bismuthinite. As at Kora, chalcopyrite forms late, overprinting early phases of pyrite. Gold is documented in petrological reports and shown in photomicrographs as occurring in quartz, or often as inclusions overgrown by chalcopyrite.

Porphyry evidence is widespread at Arakompa. Localized, high-level B veins (quartz with centreline pyrite) are present, typical of the upper parts of a porphyry system. Magnetite-epidote alteration represents classic prograde porphyry assemblages, indicative of the inner propylitic shell. Chalcocite is also locally present, suggesting an underlying copper-enriched body.

The maiden drill program by K92 is the first drilling completed on the target in 32 years, with limited and shallow drilling completed historically (18 holes, 1,766 m drilled). Of the 18 holes drilled historically, there were 15 intersections above 5 g/t AuEq, 8 intersections above 10 g/t AuEq and 3 intersections above 20 g/t AuEq, with highlights including:

004DA92 - 4.00 m at 32.03 g/t AuEq (3.32 m true thickness)

013AD92 - 4.00 m at 20.21 g/t AuEq (3.40 m true thickness)

001AD92 - 2.80 m at 16.18 g/t AuEq (2.41 m true thickness)

005AD92 - 2.00 m at 32.01 g/t AuEq (1.26 m true thickness)

016AD92 - 6.30 m at 14.96 g/t AuEq (2.39 m true thickness)

010AD92 - 9.20 m at 10.67 g/t AuEq (4.32 m true thickness)

Surface field work completed historically and by K92 has demonstrated that the target size of Arakompa is significant, with mineralization observed from drill holes, rock samples and surface workings for at least 1.7 km of strike, hosted within an approximately 150- to 225-m-wide mineralized intense phyllic altered package, and a vertical extent of over 500 m.

Figures

A plan map for Arakompa is provided in Figure 1.

A cross section showing KARDD0025 and KARDD0029 at Arakompa is provided in Figure 2.

A cross section showing KARDD0030 at Arakompa is provided in Figure 3.

A long section showing Arakompa drilling to date is provided in Figure 4.

A location map is provided in Figure 5.

Core photographs of drill hole KARDD0025 are provided in Figure 6.

Table 1

Kainantu Gold Mine - Significant Intercepts from Arakompa Diamond Drilling