South Pacific Metals Corp Announces Start of Drilling Program at Ontenu Northeast
Vancouver, British Columbia - Newsfile Corp. - October 30, 2025 - South Pacific Metals Corp. (TSXV: SPMC) (OTCQB: SPMEF) (FSE: 6J00) ("SPMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of its maiden drilling program at Ontenu Northeast prospect within its Osena project area, Papua New Guinea.
The Project lies within a major NE-SW corridor known as the Kainantu Transfer Zone, which also hosts the large Kainantu Gold-Copper mine being mined by K92 Mining Ltd.
The drilling will test whether the northwest trending mineralised structures discovered by SPMC (and described in September 17, 2025, and October 6, 2025, news releases) are surface expressions of deeper epithermal Au-Cu veins, like those currently mined by K92 at their Kora and Judd deposits.
Targets include recently discovered mineralised structures where surface samples returned up to 3.95 g/t Au, 645 g/t Ag and 1.56 % Cu across a 6 m wide outcrop.
In addition, five other structures with rock chip samples up to 13.9 g/t Au and 388 g/t Ag will also be tested.
The Company expects to drill four to six holes, for a total of about 1500m, to the end of 2025 field season.
"The drill program marks a major milestone for South Pacific. Ontenu Northeast has not been drilled before," said Timo Jauristo, CEO of the Company. "The whole team is excited to start drilling these holes, aimed at testing the deeper parts of these mineralised structures for high-grade epithermal Au-Cu veins. The first drill hole is planned to intersect several of these structures at depths between 100m to 250m. The remainder of the program will further test this structure as well as some of the other mineralised structures."
Figure 1 Regional location map showing Ontenu NE in the Kainantu Transfer Structure
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Figure 2 Wider Ontenu NE Prospect Area
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Figure 3 Maiden drill hole site
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For further information please contact:
Michael Murphy, Executive Chair
or
Investor Relations
South Pacific Metals Corp.
Tel: +1-604-653-9464
Email: info@southpacificmetals.ca
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Information
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of SPMC. In making the forward-looking statements, SPMC has applied certain assumptions that are based on information available to the Company, including SPMC's strategic plan for the near and mid-term. There is no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements may involve various risks and uncertainties affecting the business of the Company. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because of the context of the statements, including such words as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "plans", "may", "estimates", or words of a similar nature. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: ongoing exploration and future exploration programs, including results therefrom and impact thereof. These forward-looking statements and information reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic, regulatory, or other unforeseen uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, without limitation: success of the Company's projects, prices for metals remaining as estimated, currency exchange rates remaining as estimated, availability of funds for the Company's projects, capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates, prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation), no labour-related disruptions, no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled exploration, all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner, and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in gold prices, fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation), fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar), operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mineral exploration, inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks and hazards, the Company's ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner, changes in laws, regulations and government practices, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations, legal restrictions relating to mineral exploration, increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel, the availability of additional capital, title matters and the additional risks identified in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described, or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
