Mining
From The Report: Papua New Guinea 2015
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Long a mainstay of Papua New Guinea’s economy, the mining sector has not been immune to the global economic turbulence that continues to buffet the industry. Slack demand for base metal products and decreased access to cash for junior operators has curtailed exploration and development worldwide, affecting a number of PNG operators in the process. Together with local administrative and logistical hurdles, these challenges have delayed a number of high-potential mineral prospects from entering into later development and production phases. While none of these next-generation projects have come on-line as of yet, parent companies continue to show resolve in bringing them to fruition with ongoing developmental expenditures, which should in time bring new and profitable projects to the market as the older legacy mines wind down their operations.

This chapter contains interviews with Greg Anderson, Executive Director, PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum; and Fred Hess, Managing Director, PanAust.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Regulatory efforts in PNG improve mining transparency
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Long a mainstay of Papua New Guinea’s economy, the mining sector has not been immune to the global economic turbulence that continues to buffet the industry as companies wait out the resulting challenging market conditions. Slack demand for base metal products and decreased access to cash for junior operators has curtailed exploration and development worldwide, delaying a number of PNG operations in the process. Larger operations such as Ok Tedi, Porgera, Ramu, Lihir and Hidden Valley continue…

Analysis

PNG hosts development of underwater mine technology
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The most unique and potentially profitable mining operation in Papua New Guinea is moving forward again after a funding dispute between Toronto-listed Nautilus Minerals and the PNG government initially slowed development of the underwater mining project following lease approval in 2011. The technically challenging venture, dubbed Solwara 1, employs a range of new proprietary techniques and purpose-built hardware to carry out deep seabed mining in the Bismarck Sea west of central New Ireland, slated…

Interview

Greg Anderson, Executive Director, PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum: Interview
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Interview: Greg Anderson As the global mining industry continues to be subdued, to what extent is this situation affecting Papua New Guinea’s economic growth? GREG ANDERSON: PNG’s top mineral export commodity, gold, has been adversely affected by falling gold prices, which have now dropped below $1200 an ounce. There is no expectation that these prices will recover anytime soon. Most gold mines have struggled to stay profitable over the past three years, with gold generally a little above $1200.…

Interview

Fred Hess, Managing Director, PanAust: Interview
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Interview: Fred Hess To what extent could Chinese investment in the mining sector help spearhead investment at a time of persistently weak commodity markets? FRED HESS: In the case of PanAust, which was taken over by Guangdong Rising Assets Management from China in a deal worth A$1.2bn, it means we will have easier access to financing, which is one of the major stumbling blocks for the industry, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises. For an entity with the track record of PanAust,…

Analysis

PNG’s vast untapped mineral deposits continue to draw investors
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When the global economic downturn lowered demand for raw materials and depressed commodity prices, the mining sector as a whole was forced to reckon with a rapidly changing paradigm wreaking havoc on its collective balance sheets. Ripples from this slowdown continue to buffet the industry today, including in Papua New Guinea, as softer commodity price declines, exacerbated by the strength of the US dollar, left the Bloomberg Commodity Index in 2014 at its lowest level in nearly six years. Taking…