Discussions satisfactory

 Progressive discussions towards agreeing on a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the Woodlark Advance Exploration Project in Milne Bay have so far been satisfactory.

Stakeholders in the project expressed their views during a meeting this week in Alotau saying they were happy with the outcomes of the discussions.

The stakeholders are the State, DAL Wanuwan landowners Association, the MilneBay provincial government and the developer Kula Gold.

State team leader and the Mineral Resources Authority’s (MRA) exploration coordinator for Woodlark Project Moses Mambu said he was expected to conduct two more meetings during which everything should be finalised in preparation for the MoA signing sometime towards the end of the year.

Chief executive officer of Kula Gold Ltd Stuart Pether said the level of input by all stakeholders in the meetings was encouraging and indicated a good progress so far. 

Landowners’ association chairman David Asi said discussions have progressed smoothly since the development forum last December and that he was certain that with the cooperation and understanding from all stakeholders, the parties could agree on an MoA at the end of the year.

These preliminary discussions relating to an MoA was conducted in light of the application for a Mining License (ML) for which Kula Gold Ltd has applied for. It was expected that the ML wouldbe granted to the company soon by the Mining Minister Hon Byron Chan.

The Woodlark project boasts two million ounces of gold reserves and a life span of 10 years.  Depending on further exploration and positive results, the life span of the mine could be extended.