Taruga Minerals Uncovers Copper-Gold Clues in Papua New Guinea

Taruga Minerals has uncovered promising new clues at its Kol Mountain project in Papua New Guinea, with fresh assays pointing to a copper-molybdenum signature along the Northern Agadul corridor. The company collected 38 rock-chip and channel samples, revealing surface copper along the access corridor and a 2.33% copper float skarn on the western edge of the Agadul porphyry. Paul Cronin, chair of Taruga Minerals (ASX:TAR), highlighted these findings as the field team explores the main Agadul porphyry anomaly.

Field crews also located historical drill core at the Agadul gold shear, a high-grade gold zone. The new assays suggest that copper and molybdenum at Northern Agadul grade into zinc, lead, manganese, silver, and gold over a 250-meter area, consistent with the outer parts of a porphyry copper system. Southern Geoscience Consultants previously ranked Northern Agadul as a priority-three target, and the new data may lead to a re-ranking.

Meanwhile, at Central Agadul, results suggest copper mineralization may extend beyond the mapped soil anomaly. Historical drilling in 1989 at the shear and skarn prospects returned notable gold grades, including 6 meters at 2.2g/t gold from 36 meters, 2 meters at 3.5g/t from 153 meters, and 10 meters at 1.6g/t from 60 meters. Taruga plans further mapping, trench sampling, and three-dimensional magnetic modeling to refine target geometry ahead of potential drilling in 2027.

The company holds an option to acquire 100% of Kol Mountain, exercisable by December 10, 2026. Pending assays and modeling will help prioritize potential drill targets, though establishing a resource is not the immediate goal. The exploration efforts are supported by strong gold demand, driven by its role as a reserve diversifier and financial-risk hedge, despite high prices impacting jewelry consumption.