Global
Papua New Guinea:
an improved business case
South African gold
miner Harmony
recently updated
its feasibility study
for the copper-gold
Wafi-Golpu JV in
Papua New Guinea.
Edited by Leon Louw
A
fter the initial feasibility study carried
out in 2016, the new feasibility study
update (FSU), undertaken by the
Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV) and
contractor WorleyParsons, will give Harmony a
revised execution plan for its greenfield project.
The FSU sets out an improved business case for
WGJV. According to Bryan Bailie, executive
project director for WGJV, the FSU confirms the
preferred technical options to deliver the block
cave mining project safely and with appropriate
consideration given to environmental, social, and
cultural heritage stewardship.”
The FSU report incorporates findings from
earlier pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and
draws on extensive data collection undertaken
since 2016, providing a deeper understanding
of the project’s geotechnical, mining, processing,
oceanographic, environmental, and social
parameters. It also forms an integral component
of the revised proposal for development in
support of the special mining lease application,
which was submitted to the Mineral Resources
Authority (MRA) by the WGJV in August 2016.
The Wafi-Golpu Project
Wafi-Golpu is a 50/50 joint venture between
Harmony Gold Mining and Australian company
Newcrest Mining. It is in the Morobe
[6] MINING MIRROR JULY 2018
The proposed Wafi-Golpu mining complex.
Province of Papua New Guinea, about 65km
south-west of the city of Lae.
Various approaches to development
(including infrastructure configurations)
have been considered in the investigations
for the development of the Wafi-Golpu
deposits. Early investigations considered
large-scale open-pit mining of the Wafi
deposit rather than underground mining;
however, this was dismissed for various
reasons. Subsequent investigations were
highly successful in more accurately
delineating an ore body, but further work
was required to determine the economic
viability of mining. A number of technical
studies across various disciplines were
completed since 2012, which determined
a viable business case for development of
a large-scale deep-level block cave mine.
The proposed development contemplated a
significant upfront capital commitment to
deliver maximum resource extraction and
production profile over the project’s life.
The outcomes of the pre-feasibility study
initiated a pre-feasibility optimisation
study phase of work. This phase of work
contemplated alternative options focused
more towards a smaller, scalable,
lower-capital cost start-up mine.