VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Pacific Gold Corp. (“Great Pacific Gold,” “GPAC,” or the “Company”) (TSXV: GPAC) (OTCQX: FSXLF) (Germany: 4TU) is pleased to announce that it has received notification from the Papua New Guinea Mineral Resources Authority (the “MRA”) of the grant of the advanced stage and past producing Wild Dog Exploration License (“EL”) 2516.

Highlights:

• 1424 sq. km advanced stage project (EL 2761 and 2516)with historic gold production.
• Multiple high-grade drill hole intercepts near surface historically reported, while the project remains underexplored at depth and along strike, with multiple structures within a 15km x 4km corridor largely untested by drilling, including several epithermal targets and at least three copper-gold porphyry targets.

• Recent samples collected from a historic stockpile near the Wild Dog Zone include Sample 30104 which assayed 242 g/t Au, 601 g/t Ag, 9.52% Cu and Sample 68001 which assayed 122.5 g/t Au, 350 g/t Ag and 11% Cu.

• 1260 holes have been drilled on the property, most of which were focussed near surface in support of past mining activities such as grade control drilling covering the historic mined oxide epithermal deposit.

Bryan Slusarchuk, CEO of GPAC, states, “EL 2516 covers a well known and highly coveted project, with a history of high grade epithermal near surface drill intercepts reported within a limited strike length of 1km. There is significant potential along strike, with more than 90% of the projected strike of the main structure untested due to a thin layer of volcanic ash masking the prospective target area. Our management and technical team have already been preparing a detailed work program to advance this significant advanced stage asset along strike and at depth. With this EL grant, GPAC now has a multiple high priority gold and copper drill ready targets across the Wild Dog, Arau, Kesar Creek and Tinga Valley Projects.”

With this grant of EL 2516, all of the Exploration License Applications (“ELA”) acquired via the transaction through which GPAC purchased Wild Dog Resources have now been converted into Exploration Licenses. 100% of the ground in PNG within GPAC now have EL, with no additional WDR applications pending. Combined, these various EL total approximately 2500 sq. km.

Chris Muller, GPAC Director, adds, “The focus of past drilling at Wild Dog has been on the near surface high grade system, and this has obviously yielded some exceptional results. What attracted me to the project originally, however, is the size potential which quickly became evident during the due diligence process and through both field visits and an examination of a substantial amount of historic data.”

The Wild Dog Project

The Wild Dog Project consists of two ELs (EL 2516 and 2761) totalling 1424 sq. km, which are located on the island of New Britain and are approximately 50 km southwest of Rabaul and Kokopo, PNG.

The Wild Dog Project occurs within a major NNE trending structure of at least 26 km in length which transect apparent volcanic caldera structures and intrusions. During the Mio-Pliocene at least three volcanic centres, known as the Nengmutka, Keravat and Sikut calderas, were localised along this horst and graben zone. This structural corridor constitutes an epithermal and porphyry hydrothermal-magmatic mineralized field.

The Nengmutka Caldera, which hosts the Wild Dog deposit, is characterised by a suite of calc-alkaline andesite breccia and ash flow tuff known as the Nengmutka Volcanics (Lindley, 1988). This formation has been mapped over an area of 600 sq. km. Tonalite of the Arabam Diorite intrudes the volcanic sequence and appears to be partly coeval with the caldera related volcanism.

The precious metal prospects are associated with epithermal type veining that contain gold-silver-telluride (Au-Ag-Te) mineralisation. Gold and silver occur as native metals and as telluride minerals. Porphyry copper-gold type mineralization also occurs associated with these intrusion centres that usually underly the epithermal systems. The whole of the recognised belt is held within the Wild Dog tenements.

Within the central part of the Wild Dog project, a significant structural corridor called the “Wild Dog – Gunsap Corridor” occurs. The corridor is at least 15 km long and up to 4 km wide and hosts at least three porphyry copper-gold prospects and several epithermal gold deposits and prospects.

The original Wild Dog epithermal gold deposit occurs within the “Wild Dog – Gunsap Corridor” in the central part of the tenements. It was discovered in 1983, with exploration including extensive mapping, trenching, rock sampling and drilling between 1983 and 2005 by various explorers. New Guinea Gold Limited operated a small open pit mining operation from 2007 and 2011. No exploration has occurred since the closure of the mine.

Figure 1 – Wild Dog Project Location and Tenements Maps

Historical work completed by a previous operator returned significant gold assays. Channel sampling at the Kavursuki Prospect yields 4m at 9.41 g/t Au and at the Kargalio Vein 6m at 11.5 g/t Au.

Drilling of the Kavursuki Prospect by previous explorers, located within the Wild Dog Zone and north of the former Wild Dog mine, also yielded positive high-grade results.

Table 1 – Kavursuki Prospect Significant Drill Intercepts

Apart from the drilling conducted at the former Wild Dog gold mine there remain several drill intercepts that require further exploration outside of the mine environment as tabulated below, apart from the various trenching and channel sampling targets.

Table 2 – Wild Dog Prospect Area Significant Drill Intercepts

NA* - not assayed or not available.

Table 3 – Mengmut Prospect Significant Drilling Intercepts

Additionally, multiple samples collected from a historic stockpile near the Wild Dog Zone returned bonanza grades of gold and copper including Sample 30104 which assayed 242 g/t Au, 601 g/t Ag, 9.52% Cu and Sample 68001 which assayed 122.5 g/t Au, 350 g/t Ag and 11% Cu.

Figure 2 – Previous IP exploration survey at Wild Dog Project.

The exploration program at the Wild Dog Project will initially focus on drilling extensions to known gold mineralization within the Wild Dog – Kavursuki mineralized corridor (Figure 3, Tables 1 & 2) as well as other targets within the Wild Dog Structure such as Mengmut prospect (Table 3). Other targets to be explored include the copper-gold Magiabe porphyry target as well as regional geochemical targets established by previous explorers. Extension of the IP coverage in the Magiabe area could better define the target. Orientation soil geochemistry and auger drilling through the shallow cover sequence in prospective areas will be undertaken (Figure 2).

Figure 3 – Wild Dog Deposit long section with proposed drill target.

As a result of the grant of EL 2516, the Company issued to certain property vendors and/or stakeholders a total of 982,143 common shares at a deemed price of $1.12 for a deemed value of $1,100,000. The Company will also be making cash payments to certain vendors and stakeholders (see news release dated July 5, 2023). The shares issued are subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four months from the date of issue.

About GPAC

Great Pacific Gold has a portfolio of high-grade gold projects in Papua New Guinea (“PNG”) and Australia.

In PNG, Great Pacific Gold recently assembled a 2500 sq. km mineral exploration land package. The land package comprises of exploration licenses (EL). It includes both early-stage and advanced-stage exploration targets with high-grade epithermal vein and porphyry-style mineralization present.

The Arau Project consists of two exploration licenses, located in the Kainantu region, and includes the Mt. Victor Prospect, where previous drilling found a multiple phase intrusion complex hosting copper and gold mineralization.

The Wild Dog Project consists of two granted exploration licenses, EL 2761 and 2516, located on the island of New Britain and about 50 km southwest of Rabaul and Kokopo, PNG.

The Kesar Creek Project consists of one exploration license, EL 2711, and is contiguous with the K92 Mining Inc. tenements.

The Tinga Valley Project consists of one exploration license, EL 2720. The OK Tedi Copper Gold Mine is 140km to the northwest along the same belt is a superb geological comparison to the Tinga Valley Property.

In Australia, Great Pacific Gold began with two, 100% owned, high-grade gold projects called the Lauriston and Golden Mountain Projects, and has since acquired a large area of granted and application tenements containing further epizonal (low-temperature) high-grade gold mineralization and associated intrusion-related gold mineralization all in the state of Victoria, Australia. The Great Pacific Gold land package, assembled over a multi-year period, notably includes the Lauriston Project which is a 535 sq. km property immediately to the south of and within the same geological framework that hosts Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd’s Fosterville Gold Mine and associated exploration tenements. The Golden Mountain Project is an intrusion-related gold project on the edge of the Strathbogie granite and occurs at the northern end of the Walhalla Gold Belt. The acquired projects include the epizonal gold Providence Project containing the Reedy Creek goldfield which adjoins the Southern Cross Gold’s Sunday Creek exploration project and a large group of recently consolidated granted tenements called the Walhalla Gold Belt Project, which contain a variety of epizonal and intrusion related style gold mineralization. Additionally, Great Pacific Gold has another gold-focused project called the Moormbool project which has epizonal style gold mineralization and associated potential intrusion-related gold mineralization, as well as the Beechworth Project occurs in the northeast of the state and contains intrusion related and mesozonal gold mineralization.

All GPAC’s properties in Australia are 100% owned and have had historical gold production from hard rock sources despite limited modern exploration and drilling.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Rex Motton, AusIMM (CP), COO of GPAC, a Qualified Person under the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Motton is responsible for the technical content of this news release.

On behalf of GPAC
Bryan Slusarchuk
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Great Pacific Gold cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Great Pacific Gold's limited operating history, its exploration and development activities on its mineral properties and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Great Pacific Gold does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither 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.

For further information: Adam Ross, Investor Relations, Direct: (604) 229-9445, Toll Free: 1 (833) 923-3334, Email: info@greatpacificgoldcorp.com

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