Econom i c s e ctor s : M i n i ng & G a s
‘While copper, gold and silver have dominated the history of Western Province’s minerals industry, another resource—gas—looks likely to feature strongly in the sector’s future.’
Mining and gas: preparing for the next wave Cutbacks to the existing mine wall may extend the life of the Ok Tedi mine until 2022. Credit: OTML
Western Province is highly prospective for minerals. With the massive Ok Tedi copper mine approaching the end of its long life, a boom in exploration is occurring for other mining and gas discoveries.
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t the PNG Advantage Investment Conference in Brisbane in August 2011, Papua New Guinea Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Executive Director Greg Anderson gave delegates a thorough overview of the outlook for PNG’s major industry sector. What was striking from his map of major exploration sites was just how many were in Western Province. PNG has had a mining and gas industry for decades but over the past few years investment in exploration and development has surged. With a mature and well-established regulatory regime in place, a supportive and industry-focused government agency—the Mineral Resources Authority—to deal with, and demand for mineral commodities strong, particularly in Asia, the sector has moved up to an entirely new level. What is true of PNG generally is also true of Western Province, which falls within the highly prospective Papuan Basin. Buoyed by a series of promising petroleum and gas discoveries over the past 10–15 years, and encouraged by the presence of the massive ExxonMobil PNG LNG project in neighbouring
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Southern Highlands Province, Western Province is now awash with exploration companies drilling for gas. At the same time, there are plans to extend the Ok Tedi mine beyond its close date of 2013, and also to develop other copper and gold deposits.
Ok Tedi expansion plans Expansion plans at the Ok Tedi mine in the northern Star Mountains are expected to extend the life of Papua New Guinea’s largest copper mine until at least 2024 (see page 16 for more on the mine’s current operations). Currently the subject of feasibility study, community consultation and Government approvals, the plans involve two major cutbacks of the mine’s massive west wall and a small underground mine, ‘Gold Coast’. While the Ok Tedi mine production will reduce to less than half current production under this extension, it is still expected to produce some 700,000 tonnes of copper and 2.3 million ounces of gold over a nine-year period.