Great Pacific Gold Corp. has uncovered signs of a large-scale epithermal system and possible porphyry deposit at its Wild Dog project in Papua New Guinea, raising hopes of a significant discovery in one of the world’s most mineral-rich regions.
The Canadian miner said a diamond drilling programme is under way at the site on the island of New Britain. Early results have already shown high-grade mineralisation, including one hole that cut seven metres grading 11.2 grams per tonne gold equivalent (5.5 g/t Au, 68.8 g/t Ag, 3.1% Cu) from a depth of 65 metres.
Ahead of drilling, the company conducted an airborne MobileMT geophysical survey, which revealed the scale of the underground system. The data suggests the epithermal vein structure extends more than 15 kilometres along strike and at least 1,000 metres deep.
Greg McCunn, chief executive of Great Pacific Gold, described the findings as a major step forward. “The Wild Dog structure is massive…Our current drilling programme is only testing about 10 percent of the overall system,” he said.
What excites the team most is the nearby Magiabe prospect, about 1.5 kilometres west of the Wild Dog veins. Geophysical models point to a potential porphyry copper-gold system nearly one kilometre wide and extending over two kilometres in depth, a scale likened to Papua New Guinea’s world-class Wafi-Golpu deposit.
Surface sampling has added weight to the porphyry model. One rock specimen from Magiabe returned 2.5 grams per tonne gold, 124 parts per million copper and 9.1 grams per tonne silver. Another carried copper grades of 0.25 percent along with gold, silver and molybdenum values.
McCunn said the company plans to keep drilling through the rest of 2025 to firm up the grade and scale of the Wild Dog system, while pushing Magiabe towards drill-ready status in 2026.
Magiabe adds a new dimension to the project as it complements the high-grade near-surface gold with the possibility of a large porphyry system beneath.
The Wild Dog area lies within Papua New Guinea’s “Ring of Fire,” a geologic arc that has produced some of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits. Historic explorers had suspected a porphyry system at Magiabe but drilling was never done. The latest survey, however, has “unmasked” the deeper anomaly, giving the company what it calls a high-priority target.
For now, the executive said that the focus remains on the drill rigs steadily working through the rugged terrain of East New Britain.
With more assays expected in the coming months, the company hopes to prove that Wild Dog is not only high-grade but also vast in scale — a combination that could transform the project into one of PNG’s next big mines.
