Porgera mine

Posting on his Facebook wall, Marape asked all Papua New Guineans to bear with him as the government works through the transitional period of the Enga Province mine.

“Short term pain for long term gain; don’t be crybabies and pessimists,” the PM said.

“In the absence of further detail regarding the proposed transitional arrangements, the company intends to temporarily suspend mining and mineral processing operations at the Porgera Mine, in order to ensure the safety and security of employees and communities,” it said in a statement.

“Critical safety, security and environmental personnel at the mine will remain operational during this period, and mine management are hopeful that full mining operations can resume in the future.”

This comes after a two-day NATTB Assessor training delivered by NATTB Assistant Director Arthur Geno, at the Porgera Mine from 24-25 September, 2019.

This means these assessors will assist NATTB officers to conduct assessments on the mine’s trade trainees, unlike previous years when the assessment on trainees was done only by the NATTB representatives.

Maintenance Training Technical Specialist Craig Reaks said these 16 assessors will now assist NATTB assessors award competent trade trainees qualification as tradespeople.

He was fatally injured in a shooting incident at the mine on the night of 29 September.

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold, Mark Bristow, and the Chairman of Zijin Mining, Chen Jinghe, made the following comments this morning: “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Samuel Marefa, an Asset Protection Officer at the Porgera Mine who sustained a serious gunshot injury on the night of 29 September.

Mine management reported that shortly after midnight on Sunday 29 September, an unknown assailant fired upon the Asset Protection Officer as he was patrolling an area in steep terrain within the mine perimeter fence.

BNL Executive Managing Director, Tony Esplin, confirmed that the officer had sustained a serious firearm injury and was evacuated by air to Port Moresby for urgent surgical treatment.

“The Asset Protection Officer received a single gunshot wound to the upper body and is in a very serious but stable condition,” Esplin said.

Barrick (Niugini) Limited (BNL), operator of the Porgera Mine, said Mine management reports that during the night of Sunday 29 September, several large groups of unauthorised intruders, believed to be illegal miners, gained access to the mine’s Open Pit, and that a number of the intruders were injured after falling from extremely steep inclines while climbing through the area.

The company confirms that an armed group of intruders attempted to hold up two mineworkers driving a mine vehicle near the Porgera Open Pit on Sunday afternoon.

The mineworkers were travelling between operating sites on the Porgera Mine to move mining equipment during mid-afternoon on Sunday 3 June when they were confronted by a number of intruders, one of whom threatened the employees with a firearm.

This followed a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the area on Monday, 26 February.

BNL executive managing director, Richmond Fenn, said the earthquake epicentre was located approximately 90km South West of the Porgera mine, close to the mine’s power generation plant at Hides.

“While the mine itself appears to have been unaffected by the quake, our primary power generating facility located some distance away in Hides has sustained damage, and is now offline,” Fenn said.

The mine will review its agreement in 2019, and Governor Sir Peter Ipatas claims there is no urgency by the Mining Department to commence preparations for the review.

The Enga Governor’s call during the grievances debate in Parliament comes after the operator of the mine, Porgera Joint Venture, lodged an application for renewal.

Governor Ipatas said the National Government and Department must not entertain the renewal until they revisit the agreement.