Case study Vanimo TA Project

Case Study - 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 in 1970 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 Laboratory83 to undertake that work. The CSIRO investigation84 , 85 initially selected Block 6 Vanimo Timber area (some 54,000 ha). Block 286 Vanimo Timber area (some 60,000 ha) was included in the investigations.

PNGAF magazine 9B-5A of 8/6/202 page 49-55 describes this project in detail.

Vanimo Survey 1970. Photo credit Ian Whyte.

Dick McCarthy with (Big Ev) Evan Shield at scales at Ossima airstrip optimising CSIRO pulpwood samples for loads for the Cessna trips. Photo

credit Ian Whyte.

83 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 TPNG Forests 1955-1976. 84 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. 85 CSIRO Division of Chemical Technology Technical Paper # 2 1975 “The Pulping and Papermaking Potential of Tropical Hardwoods 1111, 1975 Logan A.F. and Phillips F H 86 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.