Bird: Study on Frieda coming

By PETER ESILA
EAST Sepik Governor Alan Bird says studies conducted on the Frieda River project are being finalised and will be published soon.
The study was conducted by experts from the province to determine the consequences the project might have on the environment and, particularly, on the Sepik River.
“Those studies are being finalised now, as soon as they are completed, we will publish them,” Bird told The National yesterday when giving an update on the progress of the study.
He said earlier that the provincial government had committed K500,000 last year to the study.
Bird said many of those experts were locals from a wide range of sectors in mining, environment and conservation and agriculture.
He said the study looked at the mine plan, economics of the plan, and the mine in relation to agriculture, water quality, environment and also the socio-economics of the entire project.
Bird earlier said it would be a considerable decision given that a company spends hundreds of millions on exploration over many years.
He said only the facts would determine the future of the project.
The Frieda River Copper-Gold project in East Sepik is one of the largest undeveloped copper gold deposits in the world, containing 12 million tonnes of copper and 19 million ounces of gold.
It can generate 170,000 tonnes of copper per annum, and 250,000 ounces of gold per annum.
The Frieda River Project consists of the infrastructure project, the copper-gold project, hydroelectric project and power grid project.