Porgera Mine Set to Reopen Employing Over 3,000 Workers

OVER 3000 MINE WORKERS IN PNG TO WORK WHEN PORGERA MINE REOPENS

Following the recent signing of stakeholder agreements, more than 3,000 workers will be employed when the Porgera mine reopens. “Over the next couple of weeks, the company will hire 3,100 people, most of them Papua New Guineans, (who) will head back to Porgera valley, open the gate and start digging the ground,” State negotiation team chairman Dairi Vele said.  “We are hoping that they can announce that the first gold has been processed during June, July, and August.”  According to Mark Bristow, president and chief executive officer of Barrick Niugini Ltd (BNL), the cost of restarting the Porgera mine is roughly US$300 million (K1.052 billion).  The signing of the agreement at Port Moresby, according to Vele, “signified the reopening of the project.”