New Porgera will deliver unprecedented benefits to the people of Papua New Guinea once it kicks off operation with the official opening of the mine just days away.
The New Porgera Limited (NPL), in an official media statement released today, announced that all legal and contractual conditions necessary for the reopening of Porgera Mine have been met, and the mine is set to reopen on December 22, 2023.
Prime Minister James Marape, in his speech at the 17th PNG Resources and Energy Conference in Sydney today, said the long road to Porgera’s reopening has reached the finish line.
The result is an unprecedented partnership between Papua New Guinea and two leading global mining companies, Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick) and Zijin Mining, which for the first time gives majority ownership in a major resource project to Papua New Guinean shareholders.
Over the 20-year life of mine, PNG shareholders – comprised of Porgera landowners, Enga Province and the State – will receive 53 percent of Porgera’s overall economic benefits. The investors will share the remaining 47 percent.
At an assumed gold price of US$1,800 per ounce, PNG shareholders can expect to receive nearly US$7.3 billion (approximately K27.6 billion) over 20 years and US$2.8 billion (K10.6 billion) in the first 10 years.
NPL will be managed by Barrick (Niugini) Limited and is expected to employ more than 2,300 people by June 2024 and over 3,000 by the end of 2024.
With the ramp up of operations, first gold is expected to be poured in the first quarter of 2024.