Ok Tedi mining plans to commission K800mil crusher this month

THE Ok Tedi Mining Ltd will commission its new K800 million crusher this month, says managing director and chief executive officer Musje Werror.
“The old crusher will be decommissioned and removed by the end of the year to allow access to high grade ore on the East Wall, which will come into production in 2023,” Werror said.
Werror said the crusher was identified as a strategic imperative by OTML’s strategic planning committee in 2016.
It resulted in the net value of the mine increasing from US$1.9 billion (K6.72bil) in 2015 to US$3.3 billion (K11.66bil) in 2020.
It included an extension of the mine life from 2026 to 2029.
Major projects general manager Mark Thomson said the safe construction and commissioning of the crusher within budget represented a significant milestone for the mine.
He said the team celebrated two years of lost time injury free and three million hours worked.
He said Ok Tedi was a model mining company and had set the benchmark in many areas of the business.
The OTML board and management aims to extend the mine life “for as long as sustainably possible”
It plans to generate benefits to stakeholders in the form of dividends, royalties, compensation, services, infrastructure, employment, training and business opportunities.