APPENDIX 2. VANIMO PULP AND PAPER PROJECT. (AUTHORS- Dick McCarthy, Evan Shield, Mike Jones) The impetus to a more intensive evaluation of the pulping potential of mixed tropical hardwood species from PNG was given by the demand from the pulp and paper industry of Japan for raw material from throughput the Asia Pacific region. The technique of bulk transport of wood chips developed in conjunction with growth of this demand. The potential size of the industry was of national significance. Pulp and Paper - Vanimo Timber Area Project. The PNG Administration initiated a project designed to evaluate the pulping and papermaking potential of mixed tropical hardwoods in the Vanimo Timber area in detail. The intended outcome of this work is that it would then identify other timber resource areas in PNG as a source of wood chips. To determine the quality and potential market quality of the PNG forests for pulping potential, The Department of Forests through its Forest Products Research Centre Hohola engaged CSIRO Forest Products Laboratory32 to undertake that work. The CSIRO investigation33 initially selected Block 6 Vanimo Timber area (some 54,000 ha). Block 234 Vanimo Timber area (some 60,000 ha) was included in the investigations. Evan Shield35 described the Vanimo Timber Area as one of the more important components of the forest resources of PNG. This was because of its size and its species composition. The high frequency of occurrence of Kwila was the dominant feature of this.
Vanimo township 1990’s. Photo credit Evan Shield.
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CSIRO Division of Chemical Technology Technical Paper # 1 1975 “The Pulping and Papermaking Potential of Tropical Hardwoods 1 Phillips F H and Harries E D. 33 CSIRO Division of Chemical Technology Technical Paper # 2 1975 “The Pulping and Papermaking Potential of Tropical Hardwoods 1 Phillips F. H., Logan A.F. and Balodis V. 34 CSIRO Division of Chemical Technology Technical Paper #34 1975 “The Pulping and Papermaking Potential of Tropical Hardwoods 1 Logan A.F., and Phillips F H. 35 Evan Shield personal communication 17 April 2020.
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