The Porgera Joint Venture gold mine in Enga Province has reached a rare milestone in the mining industry, achieving 20 million ounces (oz.) in gold production since it began operations in 1990.
The joint venture operation between Barrick Gold Corporation, Zijin Mining Group and Mineral Resources Enga (MRE) Limited, attained the +20 million oz. on Monday (March 6th) after 7,044 ounces were produced for the particular day.
To mark the milestone for the 26 year mine, six of PJVs longest serving employees and a handful of production and processing staff were invited by the PJV management to witness the historic gold pour event.
PJV General Manager Operations, Damian Shaw, commended the efforts of those who had been involved with the operation since the first pour in 1990 and those who were still with the operation working safely, 20 million ounces later.
“This has been a great effort by everyone, the employees, the community, the government and all other stakeholders. To those who work behind the scene to make it possible to achieve this result, congratulations. Not many mines meet 20 million ounces. It is a rare achievement. Porgera still has a long life so let’s get another 20 million,” Shaw said.
The +20 million oz. is derived from more than 143 million tonnes of ore that have been mined in both the Open Pit and Underground since start of production.
During the gold pour occasion Production Superintendent, Anthon Pakyo, acknowledged the contributions from all of the PJV site departments to achieve this despite many challenges along the way.
“For the processing team, this is a real milestone achievement as we all know it has been challenging to get this far. We can hope for some more million ounces in the future through our continued team efforts,” Pakyo said.
PJV has also had significant other achievements that continue to make it a reputable operation in PNG.
Porgera accounts for on average 11 per cent of Papua New Guineas total exports and is a major contributor to the PNG economy in taxes, duties, royalties and infrastructure development.
PJV has also managed over 570 Tax Credit Scheme (TCS) and Infrastructure Development Program (IDP) funded projects valued at over $US74million (K 220 million).
Porgera is the 2nd largest gold producer in PNG and its contributions over the last 26 years have placed PNG as the 15th largest gold producing country in the world.