Senior miner appointed to Indochine board

By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI
A SENIOR miner who had experience in putting the successful Porgera Joint Venture about 20 years ago has been appointed to the board of Indochine – the developer of Mt Kare gold project located about 20km south of Porgera mine.
John Shaw has been appointed to the Indochine board as a non-
executive director.
A company statement said: “John has over 40 years experience as a geo­logist, operating manager, senior executive and independent non-execu­tive director of mining enterprises in diverse cultural and political regimes in North America, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Africa and South East Asia.
“He has significant experience in the world’s major mineral provinces and in diverse commodities (including gold, silver, copper and tungsten) with extensive experience in exploration, evaluation, design, construction and operations,” company chairman Ian Ross said.
 At its recent AGM, the company said it was in the process of approaching potential candidates to broaden the skills base of the Board.
Indochine was pleased to announce a strengthening of its board to further address its responsibilities as the company progressed its Mt Kare project in PNG.
With the appointment of Shaw, the company said “of particular benefit to Indochine is his period as Vice-President of Australian Operations of Placer Pacific and Mana­ging director of Kidston Gold Mines, during which time John was involved in setting-up and organising six PNG and Australian mines.
John was a member of the management committee of the successful Porgera Joint Venture. His skills will prove invaluable for guidance through the current phases of Indochine projects, in particular the Mt Kare project in PNG.”
“We are delighted that John Shaw has agreed to join the Indochine Board. John’s technical and operating background, particularly in PNG, will certainly complement and broaden the board’s mix of relevant skills and will enable Indochine to advance its projects and address its challenges with added confidence, and ultimately enhance shareholder value that the Company’s assets warrant” said chairman Ross.
The company had also recruited Fijian mining engineer George Niumataiwalu to be the Mt Kare project director who has already moved in to site and started dealing with local issues and commenced exploration drilling.
Niumataiwalu told the mining and petroleum conference last week Mt Kare was a challenging area during “this boom time”.
He said he was supported by a capable team of local geologists with support from the local people who were caught between the PNG LNG project in the Hela region and the Porgera gold mine over the next valley in Enga province.