Ramu NiCo loads first shipment

By JAYNE SAFIHAO
THE K1.7 billion Ramu nickel cobalt project in Usino-Bundi, Madang, will load its first ore for shipment to China today.
The shipment will also signal the official commissioning of the nickel, cobalt and chromites to leave the Kurumbukari mountains to the coast for export.
A trial shipment, comprising 576 tonnes of mixed nickel cobalt hydroxide intermediate product, left Madang a few months ago to a Chinese customer.
Today’s major event stemmed from a serious of runs carried out this year.

Since Monday, the Ramu NiCo office in Madang had been abuzz with activity soon after a Scottish Association of Marine Scientists report was presented to the developer and government representatives.
Dr Tracy Schimmeld and her team had been carrying out a National Court-ordered year-long study into the impacts of deep sea tailings in the Bismarck Sea as a result of the mining activity, particularly the Basamuk area.
The report had not yet been made public.
Expected to go into full swing next year, the project would produce 31,150 tonnes of nickel and 3,300 tonnes of cobalt annually to make it one of the world’s top nickel producers.
Yesterday, the Madang Airport was packed with Chinese nationals invited for the event.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and senior government ministers and public servants and state representatives would also attend.
Official guests would leave for Basamuk on board the MCC ferry at 7am with VIPs to travel to the site in two helicopters.
The official programme would begin at 11am with a site visit.
The official ribbon-cutting had been scheduled for noon.
Kurumbukari is located at the foothills of the Bismarck Range, 75km southwest of Madang.
The upgraded ore will be pumped as slurry through a 134km pipeline to the refinery located at Basamuk Bay on the Rai-coast.