Interesting that it comes with confirmation that Porgera is reopening. Is govt expecting increased income and ability to pay?

STO provide the gas for the powerplant for Porgera. I am unclear if the lines are still operational and I know that OSH wrote the powerplant off but not sure the current underlying ownership however it was a couple of years ago still being run to provide power to local villages I believe. Possibly a little cream of cash for gas and power supply for STO. Barrick are well experienced in using electric for everything on mine sites so will be interested in how the reopening is powered going forward

Good for PNG politics that this has settled but.........................well......PNG politics ..............what can you say???? Link there is more in the articles



https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/505182/png-s-porgera-set-to-re-open-friday

PNG's Porgera set to re-open Friday 12:44 pm on 21 December 2023 Share this Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via email Share on Reddit Share on Linked In Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist [email protected] Porgera gold mine. Photo: Richard Farbelini at English Wikipedia / Public domainThe long-awaited re-opening of the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province is set to happen on Friday.New Porgera Ltd was borne out of several years of fraught discussion over mining leases and will see the multi nationals involved, Barrick Gold and Zijin Mining, taking a minority stake, with the PNG government, the Enga government and landowners holding 51 percent of the shareholding.The parties were in a stand-off from early 2020 after the PNG government refused to renew the company's mine lease, prompting the companies to suspend operations, laying off several thousand workers.Now a new agreement has been agreed with Prime Minister James Marape saying it's an example of the government's new approach to negotiations with mining companies.Marape said it "has been a long road we have travelled to the reopening of Porgera Mine, but it has been worth the effort".The prime minister said New Porgera Ltd looks set to be a significant contributor to the economy, through a corporate tax of 32 percent and royalties rising from two to three percent.Negotiations workedThe man heading Barrick Gold, Mark Bristow, told RNZ Pacific earlier this year he had no concerns that his company is now a minority shareholder.He said the economics of the operation will work to different percentages."The PNG PM James Marape had advisors and we had advisors and every time we had a negotiation we worked through this economic split and eventually we settled on 47 percent of the economics goes to the investors - Barrick Gold Corporation and Zijin, and 53 percent goes to him, which is a fair deal. It is a fair deal anywhere in the world."Bristow said there will be equal representation on the board.
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https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2023/porgera-gold-mine-set-to-restart-production-this-month/default.aspx

Porgera Gold Mine Set to Restart Production This Month

Press Release

All amounts expressed in US dollars

Toronto– Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) announced today that the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is set to resume operations later this month and is expected to start pouring gold again in the first quarter of 2024.

This follows the satisfaction of the conditions to the Porgera Project Commencement Agreement, in which a new ownership structure was agreed.

Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said the reopening of the mine represented another victory for the company’s host-country partnership model which had been very successful in Tanzania and had also been adopted for its new Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan.

“It’s been a long journey but in the process we have secured the buy-in of all the stakeholders and we look forward to steering the mine back to world-class production. It undoubtedly has the potential to join our Tier One¹ gold mine portfolio, the largest of its kind in the industry,” he said.

The equity in New Porgera is shared 51% by PNG stakeholders, including local landowners and the Enga provincial government, and 49% by Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL), a joint venture between Barrick and Zijin of China. BNL will operate the mine. The PNG shareholders will receive 53% of Porgera’s overall economic benefits. At an assumed gold price of $1,800 per ounce, this is expected to amount to more than $7 billion over the mine’s projected 20-year life.

Speaking at the PNG Resources & Energy Investment Conference in Sydney, Australia, today, prime minister James Marape hailed the revival of a major contributor to the country’s economy. The partnership structure gives PNG stakeholders a majority interest in a key resource for the first time.

Enquiries:

Investor and Media Relations
Kathy du Plessis
+44 20 7557 7738
Email: [email protected]

Endnote 1

A Tier One Gold Asset is an asset with a $1,300/oz reserve potential to deliver a minimum 10-year life, annual production of at least 500,000 ounces of gold and with all-in sustaining costs per ounce in the lower half of the industry cost curve.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-29/inside-the-battle-over-this-png-gold-mine/103245364

Why the battle over PNG's Porgera gold mine has been called 'Game of Thrones ... on crack'

By PNG correspondent Tim Swanston and Theckla Gunga in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea

Posted 7h ago7 hours ago

In a valley in Papua New Guinea's highlands lies a sprawling mine pit that is filled with untold riches.

The enormous open cut and underground mine was shut down four years ago over a dramatic dispute between the operator and the government.

But now this slumbering giant is reawakening.

Operations have resumed, and the significant reserves of gold and silver here could transform the fortunes of an impoverished province.

But for up to 50,000 people who live in the Porgera Valley of PNG's Enga province, danger has lurked everywhere.

Some locals say they've experienced considerable environmental damage from the mine's waste and tailings, which has rendered parts of their land useless.

And more than 100 women allege they were subjected to sexual violence at the hands of security staff employed to guard the mine site.

With the mine once again in production, they now face an uncertain fate.

Billions of dollars worth of precious metal will be unearthed in the coming years, and many locals have told the ABC they feel they don't receive their share of the spoils as others get rich.

The ABC has contacted the PNG government and Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL), which operates the mine, for comment.

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