Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister talks business during Independence dinner, Tari Airport reopens and Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey on the Central Banking Act. The business news you need to know to kickstart your week.
Harmony Gold
Porgera mine output is removed from Barrick’s full year guidance, Westpac announces new division for Westpac Pacific and Australia and New Zealand agree on a ‘trans-Tasman COVID-safe’ travel zone. The business news you need to kick-start your week.
Harmony Gold Mining is evaluating options to extend the life of the Hidden Valley mine in Papua New Guinea, Harmony’s CEO for South East Asia, Johannes Van Heerden tells Business Advantage PNG.
Discussions between Papua New Guinea government agencies and the developers of the US$9 billion Wafi-Golpu copper-gold project have been put on hold by the country’s National Court while it considers an application for leave for a judicial review. Meanwhile, work under the project’s exploration licence continues.
Developers Newcrest Mining and Harmony Gold have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Papua New Guinea Government for the development of the Wafi-Golpu copper-gold mine in PNG’s Morobe Province. While the MOU indicates negotiations are proceeding well, there is still plenty of work to be done before the project gets a green light from government, local communities and investors.
Carolyn Blacklock, the acting Managing Director of PNG Power, says the money that will come from the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership established at APEC will greatly assist the roll out of electricity. She says PNG Power has sharply increased the number of connections it is making and is aiming to concentrate on hydropower.
The proposed Wafi Golpu mine will contribute to the diversification of Papua New Guinea’s economy, according to Craig Jones, Executive General Manager Wafi Golpu at Newcrest Mining. He told the Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum in Brisbane that, if the project gets the go-ahead, it will help local agriculture.
As Papua New Guinea business gets back to work, Business Advantage PNG looks at some of the issues coming up in 2017. It looks likely to be a year of preparing for better times.
Opportunities exist for brownfield expansion at the Hidden Valley mine, Johannes van Heerden, Chief Executive Officer of Southeast Asia for Harmony Gold, tells Business Advantage PNG. He believes this gives the company a competitive advantage in the region.
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.