Potential for excitement in PNG finds

TWO potentially exciting explo

ration discoveries in Papua New Guinea have been announced re cently. Gold, copper and zinc has been found in the extreme northwest of New Guinea, while a well located north of the Kutubu field in Southern Highlands Province has shown promising signs of

hydrocarbons.

News of the minerals find came from one of the smaller resources companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Carpenter’s Investment Trading Co Ltd.

Its announcement said that its licence area 699 A appeared to be “a significant new area of base and precious metals”.

The 97 sq km lease is set in the extreme north-west of the country in the Beswani Mountains near the Irian Jaya border, about 50 km south of Vanimo and 200 km north of the Ok Tedi mine.

Early sampling of outcrops had pointed to an extensive area of at least 25 sq km of volcanic rocks.

Geologists took 430 samples from 382 sites. Of the key sites, an outcrop north of Mt Mokofiang is made up of copper sulphides with minor gold, silver and zinc. Copper values ranged up to 24.5 per cent while gold values rose to 2.2 grams per tonne, with one outcrop

recording 26g/t.

An area to the south of this outcrop was found to be rich in zinc with values ranging from three to 21 per cent, with

traces also of copper, gold and silver.

Oil Search Ltd reported that its SE Mananda IX well in the Southern Highlands showed positive signs of hy drocarbon content. If it proves to contain recoverable quantities, the find will extend the size of the Kutubu oil project, which now includes the lagifu, Hedinia ad Agogo fields.

The hydrocarbons were recorded at between 1750 metres and 2109 metres.

Stock market reaction to the announce ment was marked, with Oil Search shares

rising in price.

Meanwhile, one of the smaller players in Papua New Guinea oil exploration has managed to raise more capital in the Australian equity market. Mosaic Oil NL now has another SAI.4 million (SUSI.O9 million). Part of the capital raising will finance its share of a well on the promising Langia prospect (PPL94), an easily-accessed area south of the Kutubu field.

PPL94 is managed by Mosaic’s joint

venture partner, Royal Dutch Shell, which has carried out seismic exploration over 1300 sq km the most extensive data programme undertaken in Papua New Guinea. Shell has 90 per cent of the prospect, Mosaic 10 per cent.

Mosaic has succeeded in fundraising at a time when Australian investors are

generally unsympathetic to highly specu

lative issues. □