Jose Tavizon, MSc

J. Tavizon¹, A. Arribas¹, P. Highsmith²

¹Department of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America

²Island Passage Exploration Ltd, Vancouver, BC, Canada

This thesis proposal focuses on the exceptional metallogenic potential of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, with emphasis on the characterization and timing of veins and hydrothermal alteration within the EL02 License Exploration Area. Bougainville, renowned for its world-class Panguna porphyry Au-Cu-Ag deposit, remains underexplored mainly due to decades of political conflict and restricted access. The resumption of exploration, enabled by the recent granting and renewal of EL02, the first major license under the Bougainville Mining Act, marks a pivotal moment for both scientific inquiry and local economic development. This research will compile and generate new information, including detailed fieldwork, structural geology, geochemical analyses, and a magmatic fertility assessment, with the purpose of understanding the nature of mineralization and economic potential of the EL02 license and supporting exploration in the island. Initial exploration efforts in the EL02 exploration license by Island Passage Exploration Ltd. have delineated multiple mineralized target zones based on stream sediment and rock geochemical anomalies, despite logistical challenges posed by dense vegetation and complex terrain. Fieldwork and subsequent sample geochemical analyses have identified several key sites, including Marai, Bara, Enara, Isina, and Tangka. This study further proposes zircon geochemistry and geochronologic measurements to evaluate the magmatic fertility and the temporal evolution of intrusive rocks associated with mineralization, thereby enhancing understanding of the tectonic and metallogenic evolution of Bougainville within its unique double-subduction-arc environment and anomalously high Cu-Au mineralization potential. Preliminary results from X-ray fluorescence analysis of samples from the Tangka target show potassic alteration mineralogy commonly observed in porphyry copper deposits. Socioeconomically, this work aims to support Bougainville’s economic development, as part of a multidisciplinary effort to bring mining activity back to the region within a sustainable framework, filling the knowledge gaps in Bougainville’s geology with new insights into the arc-related porphyry systems of Bougainville and the greater Southwest Pacific region, as well as being a reference and a foundation for future scientific and economic advancements.