After a decade focused on existing minerals and hydrocarbons production, Papua New Guinea is gearing up for an anticipated wave of large new investments in its resources sector. We hear from some of the key players.
Less than one year after acquiring Papua New Guinea’s largest gold mine, Newmont Corporation is pushing ahead with plans to increase grades and mine life at Lihir. On the eve of finishing his term as Newmont PNG Managing Director, Alwyn Pretorius took Business Advantage PNG inside the transition and shared the plans for the island mine’s future.
The Kainantu gold mine in Eastern Highlands Province has been in continuous expansion since its acquisition by K92 Mining in 2015. CEO John Lewins shares his company’s aspiration to become the PNG’s mining sector’s largest taxpayer – and the investment underpinning it.
A planned expansion of the Ramu nickel-cobalt mine in Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province is “still definitely on the cards”, according to Craig Lennon, Head of Asia-Pacific for the mine’s joint-venture partner, Nickel 28.
The US$7 billion Frieda River copper-gold project is one of the largest in Papua New Guinea’s development pipeline but may take another decade to come into production. Business Advantage PNG looks into why its developer, PanAust, considers it worth the wait.
PNG’s topography and seismicity complicate the storing of waste from mine operations. But SRK Consulting’s Ian de Bruyn and Claude Prinsloo believe a new facility planned for Frieda River will be an industry-leading model for tailings management – and renewable power generation.
Spending on mineral exploration in Papua New Guinea has plummeted in the past five years, according to the country’s Mineral Resources Authority. But juniors such as Canterbury Resources and Adyton Resources believe they have found the way forward.
Papua New Guinea has faced ongoing fuel supply challenges since August 2023, as a result of issues related to its largest fuel importer, Puma Energy. Islands Petroleum is one of a number of fuel companies that have ramped up capacity to help meet demand. Chief Executive Nathan Bluett says the company is now looking to grow further.