Firm gets feasibility study for Frieda River project

By GYNNIE KERO
Highlands Pacific Ltd has received a feasibility study for the Frieda River copper-gold project from project manager PanAust Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Assets Management Co Ltd (Gram).
Highlands holds a 20 per cent interest in the Frieda River joint venture, with PanAust holding 80 per cent.
The Frieda River copper-gold project is located 175km north-west of the Porgera gold mine (Enga) and 75km north-east of the Ok Tedi mine (Western).
In a statement, Highlands Pacific managing director Craig Lennon said the feasibility study represented a further step towards unlocking the value of the giant Frieda River project.
“A great deal of work has gone into the preparation of this visionary and ambitious development concept, aimed at overcoming some of the many logistical challenges associated with the construction of a project of this scale in one of the more-remote regions of Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“The project, as currently proposed by PanAust, faces significant hurdles, not least of which is the substantial capital cost, but also the need to identify government and other third parties to develop and fund the roads and other regional infrastructure required as a pre-requisite to construction of the project.
“The Frieda River project has the potential to generate major economic benefits for Papua New Guinea, for the communities in the region, the participants in the project and the shareholders of Highlands Pacific.
“We will be seeking to work with PanAust and the other stakeholders to further refine the project and improve returns where possible.”
The entire project requires increased total capital investment of more than US$7 billion (K23.6 billion) encompassing the cost of mine development, process plant, hydro-electric power plant, road construction, airport upgrades and power transmission network.
It proposes a much longer mine life of 33 years, compared with 17 years in the prior study.