Miner safely delivers projects

DEVELOPER St Barbara has recently delivered two major projects at its Simberi operations in New Ireland without any lost time injury (LTI), according to the company.
St Barbara in a statement said the construction team, which consisted of St Barbara employees and contractors, achieved more than 109,000 safe workhours in the projects.
The multi-million-dollar projects included the deep-sea tailings’ placement (DSTP) pipeline and the pH (water’s acidity) monitoring system facility, which were constructed over three months without an incident.
The projects form part of Simberi operation’s sulphides extension, for which St Barbara is currently seeking an environmental permit.
General manager Randy McMahon described the safety performance by the work crew as a milestone.
“It’s like one person working for 52.4 years without an injury, it’s outstanding,” McMahon said.
Construction work started on Sept 20 and ended on Jan 6.
Almost 100 pipeline specialists, engineers, technicians, tradesmen, and divers from Papua New Guinea and abroad teamed up with Simberi operations teams to deliver the projects.
The works included upgrades to the process of monitoring pH levels and the building and safe installation of 540-metres of the DSTP pipeline deep on the ocean floor.