Transcript
KATHERINE KARAYA: All they need to do is just come in with a good relationship with the landowner groups - and people say it takes time but, maybe when it's in court, but otherwise the procedure is fairly straightforward. When there's a licenced settlement that's not taken up you come in, negotiate with landowners, put in your application and the Mining Mineral Resource Authority, they're regulators so they're regulated by the Mining Act. So basically you just follow the rules, that's all. It's not that difficult to pick up unless you're already contending with another mining company already on the ground.
JOHNNY BLADES: How are things these days in the mining sector in PNG? I mean, I guess, we know that things around the world haven't been so easy with the global commodity price slump. How are things going in PNG?
KK: As you know it's dictated by the world markets. When there's a downturn, you know obviously in the last couple of years, yes we had a downturn. But regardless whether we go through and jobs are laid off and people get [inaudible]. It's affected by the world markets. But it doesn't really affect Papua New Guinea, I guess. We just go on business as usual.
JB: And you've got a couple of interesting developments on the horizon haven't you in the mining sector. Frieda River (Copper-Gold project) is one of them, isn't it?
KK: Correct, and Frieda River is one of the biggest in the country we have right now, and put together with a few LNG projects here; we've got two coming up. we've got three majors ones, LNG Projects. But I think put together those three LNG projects and, putting all the minerals together, I think Frieda River is the biggest in PNG right now, quite huge.
JB: That'll be a big one for the Sepik region, won't it, which hopefully I suppose for the region will create some jobs will it?
KK: Correct. It's in the remotest area of Sepik, especially in West Sepik province, that borders with Irian Jaya, Indonesia (Indonesia's Papua region) so we've got the same belt that runs through to Southern Highlands and to Hela province and to Western Province so if you look at Ok Tedi, that's the Star Mountains where right now we've got a copper mine, and it comes through to Hela province where there's another one coming up... that's Newcrest, the ones who are mining New Ireland, Lihir Gold. So it runs through to West Sepik and that's the biggest.
JB: What sort of tailings system will be used? Because I know people will be worried about the mighty Sepik River and its surrounding tributaries being harmed by tailings. What do you think is going to happen?
KK: Good question. We need expert... we need to have a good mining company that considers the environment first. Before you could go into mining, the environmental license is one of the prerequisites before you get into mining. And it's up to the Environment Minister to consider that before the mining license is granted, you know the full mining license. So my minister, Byron Chan, works very closely with the environment minister. I believe to date they have... a big Chinese company has bought what we call PanAust, that's a small Australian company, they bought them out. Well let's hope that the Chinese do a good thing, the right thing, to build a dam. Let's keep our fingers crossed. They say they can do it, they've done it before in China, so let's wait and see. Only time will tell whether they can prove they can do it, or if not there's going to be another lawsuit like the Ok Tedi thing. So let's keep our fingers crossed, only time will tell.
JB: And what's happening with the Solwara 1 (seabed mining) Project, is that going ahead?
KK: It's going ahead. Just waiting for a few issues to be settled with landowners and equity participation. Government's basically given the OK to go ahead, so as soon as those things are settled, and the building of the ship and all that, it's been given the green light. So let's see how they progress, it's already at the advanced stages.
