$US4 billion to reopen Panguna mine, says Somare

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare, says he hopes the Bougainville copper mine can be reopened within two years.

He was speaking at the opening of the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference, in Sydney, Australia.

The primeminister said reopening the Bougainville mine would cost about $US4 billion.

The Panguna mine was closed 20 years ago amid secessionist violence.

Pressure

But with demand for copper increasing, there is growing pressure to reopen the mine to exploit one of the world’s largest deposits.

A record 1,100 delegates registered to attend the investment conference, with commodity prices high and PNG in the grip of a mining and gas boom.

The three-day event will see Sir Michael joined on the podium by all his key economic and resources ministers, as well as landowners and landowner companies.

Investors will hear updates on projects ranging from the $15 billion ExxonMobil-led PNG liquefied natural gas project and Xstata Copper’s $5.3 billion Frieda River development.

Also to be covered were the Chinese-owned Ramu Nickel mine and well-advanced plans for the world’s first seafloor mining.