Production at Crater Mountain’s High Grade Zone provided junior mining company Crater Gold Mining with the stability it needed throughout difficult market conditions and provided capacity for exploration. Managing Director Russ Parker tells Business Advantage PNG the past few years have been extraordinarily difficult for junior explorers to raise capital to exploit their assets.
The Chairman of InterOil, Chris Finlayson, says the company is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada after a court upheld an appeal against the US$2.5 billion (K7.9 billion) sale of InterOil to ExxonMobil. Meanwhile, the man behind the appeal, Phil Mulacek, tells Business Advantage PNG he’s open to dialogue.
Times are undoubtedly tough in Papua New Guinea’s mining and petroleum sector, but as the industry prepares for its biennial conference in Sydney in December, the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum’s Greg Anderson tells Business Advantage PNG there are still ‘bright stars’ to get excited about.
While market conditions continue to challenge junior mining companies working in Papua New Guinea, some small mining companies such as Gold Mountain and Frontier Resources are experiencing encouraging results from their exploration programs in the country.
Palm oil was the biggest mover in the month, while gold, coffee and oil prices remain strong. Gas prices, however, continue to be weak and in the currency markets, the kina continues its slide against the yen. Business Advantage PNG’s monthly overview of commodity and financial markets.
The government of Bougainville wants to put the operation of the giant Panguna copper mine out to international tender as soon as possible, President John Momis tells Business Advantage PNG. But key considerations, including the exploration licence, the equity structure, landowner rights and dividends and the rehabilitation of the mine must be decided first.
In a bid to promote skills formation in Papua New Guinea’s LNG sector Kumul Petroleum Academy, trading as South Pacific Employment Institute (SPEI), has signed a K9 million technician development agreement with ExxonMobil PNG.
St Barbara recently announced that gold production from its Simberi mine in New Ireland rose by 39 per cent in the year to June: exceeding ‘the upper end of guidance.’ Managing Director Bob Vassie tells Business Advantage PNG that the company is looking to explore more in Papua New Guinea.
The board of InterOil has accepted that the ExxonMobil bid is ‘superior’ to the bid by Oil Search. But the deal will not be completely finalised until a proposed shareholders’ meeting in September. And there are some legal obstacles that have to be dealt with.
ExxonMobil PNG may have trumped Oil Search’s bid for InterOil Corporation, but Papua New Guinea’s largest company will still benefit from the US major’s US$2.3 billion bid, according to Oil Search’s Managing Director Peter Botten. He tells Business Advantage PNG that the bid by ExxonMobil delivers most of the benefits of Oil Search’s take over offer and pushes the ‘cooperation agenda’.