pressured
p. 51 · Read in the full issue
Goldminers pressured
PAPUA New Guinea has put pres sure on British Mining Group RTZ Corp to develop a rich volcanic gold deposit by extending a prospecting licence for nine months instead of the usual two years.
Lemek Palaso, secretary to PNG Minister for Mineral and Energy, said the prospecting authority for the Lihir deposit, which lapsed in mid-June, has
been renewed to March 31, 1992. He said a condition of renewal is that a proposal for development be submitted to the government in the first quarter of 1992, providing the project is economi cally viable.
RTZ’s wholly-owned Kennecott Ex plorations owns 80 per cent of Lihir, which has reserves of 19.7 milion ounces of gold, bigger than the nation’s major gold project, Porgera.
The capital cost of developing Lihir, on a volcanic island 930 kilometres northeast of Port Moresby, has been estimated by RTZ at nearly USSI.2 billion. □