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Business |
Barrick mulls open pit mining in
Porgera
By BIBIAN BARRENG
MINING giant Barrick Gold Corp, operator of Porgera Gold mine in
Enga province, is exploring the feasibility of an open pit mining
expansion.
Barrick Australia Pacific president Joc O’Rourke and eastern
region’s director of operations Gary Halverson unveiled the plans
following a recent two-day visit to the mine site at Porgera to
see how mining operations were going.
“We are working to extend the mine’s life and along with our joint
venture partners, we are now exploring the feasibility of a stage
6 expansion,” Mr O’Rourke said.
He said Barrick now had a presence in Papua New Guinea following
its acquisition last year of Placer Dome.
Saying there is a strong interest in this country, he reiterated
the words of Barrick chief executive officer Greg Wilkins who said
PNG is an important part of Barrick’s strategy in the Australia
Pacific region.
Mr O’Rourke said given the significance of Porgera, he lauded the
mine as being a world-class gold project.
He said after 17 years of production, Porgera was still regarded
as a significant ore body with estimated intact reserve of nine
million ounces.
“We have the experience and capacity in running a world-class gold
project in PNG and there is no reason why we should not leverage
off this presence,” Mr O’Rourke said, adding that this is
consistent with the company’s corporate and regional strategy.
The Toronto-based company has mining concerns in Australia, South
Africa, Tanzania and Nevada.
While Barrick may have future plans to operate other mines in
Australia and the Pacific, Mr O’Rourke says Porgera remains a
flagship operation in the Pacific region.
Barrick now owns 75% of the Porgera mine after it acquired Placer
Dome’s share in Porgera early last year through a world-wide
acquisition of Placer Dome assets.
The two Barrick executives also met with Mining Minister Sam
Akoitai yesterday to discuss mining operations.
 
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