K92 Mining Inc. on 18 February announced high-grade results from ongoing underground diamond drilling at its Kora, Kora South, Judd and Judd South deposits, as well as the first results from its Kora Deeps and Judd Deeps targets at the Kainantu gold mine in Papua New Guinea.
The company said drilling has expanded a near-mine infrastructure dilatant zone at the K2 vein within the Twin Incline Mining Front, located about 50 metres from underground development. The zone is now defined over roughly 100 metres along strike and 200 metres vertically.
Recent intercepts at the K2 vein dilatant zone included 20.50 metres grading 14.04 grammes per tonne gold equivalent (g/t AuEq) in hole KMDD0915 and 10.70 metres at 10.83 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0914.
K92 said the expanded zone is expected to provide a near-term boost to mining productivity once pastefill is introduced, enabling bulk transverse long-hole open stoping.
Significant depth extensions
The first set of results from the Kora Deeps and Judd Deeps programmes delivered significant depth extensions below the existing mineral resource estimate, effective Sept. 12, 2023.
At Kora Deeps, thick, high-grade mineralisation along the K1 vein was intersected up to 350 metres below the Twin Incline and 250 metres below the 2023 mineral resource estimate. Mineralisation has been defined over approximately 400 metres of strike and remains open at depth and along strike.
Highlights included 8.00 metres at 10.16 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0909 and 17.20 metres at 5.04 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0880A.
At Judd Deeps, drilling along the J1 vein intersected mineralisation up to 300 metres below the Twin Incline and 350 metres below the mineral resource estimate. High-grade mineralisation has been defined over a 450-metre strike and remains open.
Intercepts included 8.50 metres at 8.64 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0896 and 6.80 metres at 6.21 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0944.
High-grade extensions above and along strike
K92 also reported continued high-grade extensions up-dip from the Main Mine at both Kora and Judd, with several intersections exceeding mineral resource estimate grades.
At the K1 vein, results included 4.95 metres at 38.46 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0893 and 4.16 metres at 24.24 g/t AuEq in hole KMDD0894. At the K2 vein, hole KMDD0977 returned 18.19 metres at 11.70 g/t AuEq, while hole KMDD0904 intersected 4.35 metres at 29.62 g/t AuEq.
At Judd’s J1 vein, notable results included 5.45 metres at 66.99 g/t AuEq in hole JDD0306 and 1.65 metres at 185.79 g/t AuEq in hole JDD0307.
Step-out drilling along strike to the north and south also returned multiple high-grade intercepts, including several exceeding 20 g/t AuEq.
At the Judd North target, defined as an up-dip extension over an 800-metre strike, underground drilling towards surface intersected 20.29 metres at 14.06 g/t AuEq in hole JDD0355. K92 said it plans to begin surface drilling at Judd North in the second half of 2026.
All holes intersect mineralisation
The company said results from 101 underground diamond drill holes demonstrate the high-grade continuity and expansion potential of the Kora-Kora South and Judd-Judd South vein systems.
All drill holes at Kora-Kora South, including Kora Deeps, intersected mineralisation, with 31 intersections exceeding 10 g/t AuEq and 61 exceeding 5 g/t AuEq.
At Judd-Judd South, including Judd Deeps, all drill holes intersected mineralisation, with 16 intersections above 10 g/t AuEq and 36 above 5 g/t AuEq.
Exploration budget increase
John Lewins, K92 chief executive officer and director, said the latest results highlight strong near-mine growth and depth potential.
“We are very pleased with the latest drilling results, which continue to deliver strong near-mine growth and demonstrate the exceptional continuity and scale of the Kora-Judd system,” Lewins said.
“Key highlights include the expansion of a dilatant zone near-mine infrastructure at the Twin Incline Mining Front, extensions of high-grade zones above the Main Mine at grades outperforming the mineral resource estimate, and significant depth extensions at both Kora and Judd from our initial set of deeps drill program results. Numerous high-grade intersections were also recorded along strike to both the north and south, further reinforcing the strength of the vein system and our organic resource growth pipeline.”
Lewins said the company will increase its exploration budget by more than 50% in 2026 to between $31 million and $35 million.
“We currently have seven underground drill rigs operating at Kora and Judd, five surface rigs at Arakompa and Maniape, one at Wera, and two additional rigs scheduled to arrive in the second quarter,” he said.
“Later in the year, we plan to expand drilling to target several highly prospective regional targets, including Mati, Mesoan, Bona-Creek, and Judd North from surface. We look forward to providing further exploration updates in due course.”
