- Porgera Mine Set to restart as (PNG) and Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL) agree to a new partnership
- Porgera has been on care and maintenance since April 2020, when the government declined to renew its special mining lease
- Ownership of Porgera will be held in a new joint venture owned 51 per cent by PNG stakeholders and 49 per cent by BNL
- The Porgera Joint Venture is an open pit and underground gold mine located at an altitude of 2,200-2,600 metres in the Enga Province of Papua New Guinea
- Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX) is down 0.19 per cent and is trading at C$26.53 at 1:33 pm ET.
The Porgera gold mine is on track to resume operations later this year.
This after the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government and Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL) agreed on a partnership for its future ownership and operation.
Porgera has been on care and maintenance since April 2020, when the government declined to renew its special mining lease.
Under the terms of a binding framework agreement signed here today by Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae and Barrick Gold Corporation President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow, ownership of Porgera will be held in a new joint venture owned 51 per cent by PNG stakeholders and 49 per cent by BNL.
BNL remains the operator of the mine.
The framework agreement also provides, among other things, for PNG stakeholders and BNL to share the economic benefits generated over the life of mine on a 53/47 per cent basis.
BNL to finance the capital required to restart the mine; an increase in the equity allocated to a broad group of landowners who are the landowners’ customary owners where Porgera is located.
The parties will now work towards the signing of definitive agreements, at which time full mine recommencement work will begin.
Prime Minister James Marape said the framework agreement, reached after months of negotiation, was a historical development that would benefit PNG for many years to come and set a precedent for future projects.
“I thank Bristow and his team for recognizing our nation’s aspirations and their willingness to partner with us in realizing this vision at Porgera,” said Marape.
Bristow said Barrick, on behalf of BNL’s joint venture partners Barrick and Zijin Mining was delivering on its promise of reaching a fair agreement on the future of Porgera for the benefit of all its stakeholders, notably the local community, Enga province and the PNG government.
“We intend to partner with all key stakeholders to make Porgera a world-class, long-life gold mine,” added Marape.
The Porgera Joint Venture is an open pit and underground gold mine located at an altitude of 2,200-2,600 metres in the Enga Province of Papua New Guinea, about 600 kilometres northwest of Port Moresby.
BNL is a joint venture company in which Barrick and Zijin Mining Group each own 50 per cent.
Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX) is down 0.19 per cent and is trading at C$26.53 at 1:33 pm ET.
