Marengo Mining to build second international airport for Madang

By SINCLAIRE SOLOMON

 

MADANG will have a second international airport if Australian-based miner Marengo Mining has its way, The National reports.

The province will also boast a 70 megawatt hydro power station if its plans to develop the world-class Yandera copper-molybdenum-gold is approved by the government.

Marengo Mining Ltd managing director Les Emery told The National after a visit to the Yandera with a group of potential investors that the airport and hydro-power plans were  contained in the company’s two-year definite feasibility study (DFS) which would be completed at the end of this year and presented to the government.

Emery said they had looked at airports in Madang and none suited their purpose and they had identified a site in the Ramu Valley for an airstrip capable of taking Dash 8 aircraft.

He also said electricity provider PNG Power did not have the capacity or capability of providing the power the mine would need.

Emery said the DFS was looking at a number of development options, most importantly:

* An open-cut mining operation with an initial 20-year operating life;

* Ore processing starting at 25mtpa with the ability to increase throughput over the life of the operation;

* Proposed near and/or in-mine crushing of ore before being conveyed by ore slurry pipeline to a near coastal concentrator, encompassing separate copper and molybdenum flotation circuits to produce two concentrate streams;

* Transportation of the copper concentrate via a slurry pipeline to Madang for drying and storage prior to shipping;

* Road transport of molybdenum concentrates to Madang;

* Implementation of hydroelectric power, with a parallel heavy fuel oil backup facility;

* Alternative tailings management options identified, which are still under investigation; and

* Implementation of world-class environmental standards and community relations initiatives to ensure successful project development for all stakeholders.