Mining in Papua New Guinea
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Mining in Papua New Guinea is an important source for the Papua New Guinea economy.
[edit] History
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[edit] Since 1970
All the mining activity that has taken place in the country since 1970 has produced approximately 5 million tonnes of copper between 1970 and 2007. The country produced 202,277 t of copper in 2003 compared to 211,315 in 2002, all of which was produced by the Ok Tedi Mine the most active mine in the country. The mine reported that 29.32 Mt of ore was mined (approximately 240,000 t/d material moved) and 29.26 Mt milled (77,000 t/d) with a head grade of 0.78% Cu and 0.8 g/t Au. Respective gold and copper recoveries for 2003 at Ok Tedi were 68% and 84%.
The Ok Tedi Mine is situated at Mount Fubilan in the Star Mountains in western PNG, close to the Indonesian border. OK Tedi Mining Ltd. (OTML) is owned by BHP Billiton (52%), Inmet Mining Corp. (18%) and the PNG government (30%). OTML has been at the focus of several pollution claims and as a result, BHP Billiton reviewed its position in OTML and is set to withdraw from the project. Inmet and the Government of Papua New Guinea are to retain their respective interests in Ok Tedi, with BHP Billiton's interest being transferred into a trust.
Of the government’s 30%, 2.5% is allocated to mine landowners. OTML is one of PNG’s largest export earners, contributing 20% to PNG’s exports. Ore resources are estimated at 344 Mt grading at 0.88% copper and 0.92 g/t gold.
Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) has developed the Panguna mine but work has been limited due to civil unrest in the province. Rio Tinto is a major shareholder of the BCL (54%) and intends disposing of its stake in the company. The deposit has a life of mine of some 20 years and has a capacity to produce 180 000t of copper and 480 000 oz gold per year. This development marked one of the first major investments in PNG, and was at one stage one of the world's largest copper - gold mines.
