Ramu to resume mining

RAMU Nickel mine’s Basamuk refinery in Madang has been granted permission to resume operation by the Chief Inspector of Mines Lave Michael.
Michael said permission was granted for the company to operate high pressure acid leach Train One and Train Two only.
Train Three remains closed as it is still under investigation. He said the permission was granted on Tuesday, after the company satisfactorily met the inspector’s rectification requirements on trains one and two.
Trains are process facilities where slurry from the mine is separated into different mineral products.
The mine was closed for more than 11 weeks after an incident on April 12 resulted in the death of a Chinese employee, and the serious injuries to two local employees.
The company was ordered by the Mineral Resources Authority’s mine inspector to cease operations following the incident.
The incident resulted from unsafe and defective management systems that were prevalent on the HPAL trains. As part of the cessation order, Ramu Nickel was tasked to engage an internationally reputable third party investigator, to carry out a thorough investigation and provide a detailed report on the three trains.
The report was submitted to the inspector on June 12 following which the inspector allowed the company to conduct remedial and repair works on the HPAL trains.
Following this, inspectors visited the refinery on June 23 and conducted verification of the repair and remedial works. Michael said it was the Government’s expectation that all mines operating in PNG did so safely and observed their regulatory responsibilities.