Industry in worsening state

 The country’s mining industry is facing one of its worst years in recent times, the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum says.

President Gerea Aopi said falling gold and copper prices had fostered a climate of cost cutting among all mining operations.

“The junior mineral exploration segment, which is most sensitive to market trends, has been seriously impacted. Most junior companies short of cash resources have opted to call a halt to work at their exploration leases. 

“Many exploration tenements are in the process of being abandoned. Two juniors that were fully committed to PNG exploration have left the mineral sector for unrelated ventures in Australia.

“As a result of intensive exploration and development activity over the past decade, two major projects continue to make good headway –the Wafi-Golpu project in Morobe owned by Newcrest Ltd and Harmony Gold and the Frieda River project in Sandaun – which has a new owner in PanAust.

“PNG’s geological prospectivity may be excellent but should not be taken for granted, especially in view of the long lead times for exploration and development,” he said.

The 2015 PNG budget recorded a 22.7% fall in mining sector employment.

Aopi said although current policies have been conducive to exploration and development, international commodity prices have turned against PNG.