Petromin picked for Kula project

MINISTER for Mining Byron Chan yesterday announced the nomination of Petromin PNG Holding Ltd as state nominee in the Kula gold mining project on Woodlark Island, Milne Bay province.
Chan said the early nomination would allow Petromin to carry out its own technical and financial due diligence before formally participating in the project at the issuance of the mining license.
This would also allow Petromin to have sufficient time to organise its financing.
He said Petromin, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Eda Minerals Kula Gold Ltd, would take up 25% direct equity while 5% would be managed by Mineral Resource Development Company (MRDC), on behalf of the project area landowners.
Woodlark Mining Ltd, a company incorporated in PNG is 100% owned by Kula Gold Ltd, an Australian-listed company and owns exploration licences (ELs) 1279, 1172 and 1465.
The advanced stage Woodlark Island gold project comprising of Kulumadau, Busai and Woodlark King/Boniavat deposits occur within EL 1279.
The island is located 500km east of Port Moresby in the Milne Bay province, and is accessible by air to Gusopa airstrip or by sea to Kulumadau.
Last February, Kula Gold reported a resource base of two million ounces and 700,000 ounces reserves at 2.1g/t gold.
Petromin had been nominated to take up 30% equity including the 5% for landowners in the venture under its subsidiary Eda Minerals (Kula Gold) Ltd and this was gazetted on March 21, 2012.
Chan said he looked forward to assisting the project in the licencing process, consistent with the developers’ work programme.
Woodlark Island had a rich history of gold mining dating back to the late 19th century.
Between 1895 and 1930, an estimated 222,000oz of gold was produced on the island.
Following the first discovery of gold on Woodlark Island in 1895, an initial gold rush occurred, consisting largely of individual miners working alluvial fields on the surface of the island.
A second rush occurred in 1899 with discovery of primary gold mineralisation at Kulumadau.
Underground hard rock mining was undertaken at a number of locations on the island, including Kulumadau, Busai and Boniavat.