K92 Mining hails employees

K92 MINING Inc says the company is pleased with the resiliency and strong performance of the Kainantu gold mine during what has been a challenging period globally for the mining industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chief executive and director John Lewins said this would not have been possible if it were not for the dedication and preparedness of the company’s workforce.
“The support of all levels of government in Papua New Guinea has also been a major factor,” he said.
“It is worth highlighting that our non-local employees, both expatriate and national, were given the choice to go back to their families ahead of the state of emergency declaration and almost all of them decided to stay on site.
“They went above and beyond what is expected from them, with many staying on site for over three months to make sure the mine performed before returning home for a very well deserved break.
“We believe their efforts have set the stage for a very exciting second half of 2020 in terms of both production expansion and exploration.
“Our process plant is performing well and our stage two expansion commissioning to double mill throughput is set to begin in the first half of the third quarter.
“We will also see the potential future of Kainantu beyond stage two, with a stage three expansion PEA (preliminary economic assessment) planned for July.
“On the exploration front, the rate of activity and number of targets drilled concurrently is expected to make a major step change, with not only surface exploration resuming but three new drill rigs arriving on site near-term.
“This will provide capacity to potentially test Karempe, Kora, Blue Lake and Kora South concurrently in the second half of 2020.”