The Porgera mine
The National aka The Loggers Times | March 5, 2018
Barrick (Niugini) Ltd has reported significant damage to its mine power generation plant located at Hides in Hela in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the area last Monday.
The operator of the Porgera Mine in Enga, Barrick (Niugini), executive managing director Richmond Fenn said the power generation facility was located closer to the epicentre of the earthquake.
“While the mine itself has not been damaged, the power plant has been seriously damaged and is now offline,” Fenn said.
“Consequently, production and processing facilities at the mine were shut down.
“The mine is currently operating on power provided by backup generators located at the mine site. The open pit and underground mines remain in operation while the processing plant is shut down to allow a more detailed assessment of the situation.
“A preliminary visual assessment of the Hides facility by our maintenance teams has confirmed that potentially significant damage to gas turbines, transformers and control modules has occurred, as well as damage to buildings and other infrastructure at the plant.
“Our conclusion from this initial assessment is that resumption of electricity generation from the Hides facility may take several months to achieve.
“It will take several weeks to conduct more detailed inspections of the facility and generating equipment before a comprehensive assessment is available.
“We are still evaluating the likely impact of the event on our 2018 production targets.”
Fenn noted that the PJV (Porgera Joint Venture) management team had initiated a plan to resume limited production of gold at the mine.
“The Hides facility typically provided approximately 70MW of power to the Porgera Mine.”
Papua New Guinea Mine Watch 