Papua New Guinea's government will take control of the Porgera gold mine after refusing to extend Barrick Gold Corp's lease over the facility, citing environmental concerns, Prime Minister James Marape said on Friday.
SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE - Papua New Guinea’s government will take control of the Porgera gold mine after refusing to extend Barrick Gold Corp’s lease over the facility, citing environmental concerns, Prime Minister James Marape said on Friday.
Marape took power a year ago on a platform of economic nationalism that would review more closely its mineral resource assets, and comes as pressure rises on miners globally to improve their social and environmental responsibilities. “The state has every right to refuse the lease, or to extend the lease, and in this instance, because of the environmental issues, resettlement issues and many, many other legacy issues ... the state has now refused the lease to Porgera.”
It also said it would “pursue all legal avenues” to challenge the government’s decision and to recover any damages. Porgera produced about 421,500 ounces of gold in 2018 and in January Barrick was mulling elevating it to “tier one” status, which it reserves for mines capable of producing half a million ounces cheaply for a decade.Porgera is just one of several large and lucrative extractive projects on the drawing board in Papua New Guinea when Marape took charge.
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