Quite right SBB - and it's worthwhile to remember that while...

Quite right SBB - and it's worthwhile to remember that while earthquakes (and Queensland floods perhaps) are top of mind at the moment risk isn't just about natural events.

There's all the other business related factors like technical issues, environmental and planning permits, key personnel (for small firms), carbon and mining taxes ... the list goes on and on.

What we've learnt from Chch and Japan is that despite the best brains around studying seismic risk it is still very complex and difficult to assess with any certainty. It's all about probability which means here in Wellington we might get slammed tomorrow - or we may be good for a few more hundred years.

The positive is that there are lessons from each event that can be incorporated into new structures and strengthening of existing structures. Wellington motorway overbridges had a major upgrade after 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged similar structures in California.

Got a bit of topic sorry, but as far as Lihir goes my uniformed guess is that you'd have to have comprehensive risk assessment before you could get a feel for what impact an earthquake / tsunami might have and if it was more or less risky than another mine.