Placer Dome

Headlines

Papua New Guinea

will not sell

Placer Dome, the Canadian mother company of Placer PNG which runs the giant Pogera Gold Mine says it will not sell a further 20 per cent equity to the Papua New Guinea government. In a letter to the PNG government Placer’s chairman Fraser Fell said he had been misrepresented and equity was not for sale.

The letter sent to the Sydney Stock Exchange said his statement regarding equity was to cover the situation should the government proceed with unilateral action to compulsorily take an interest in the mine.

Earlier reports quoted Fell as saying Placer was willing to sell a further 20 per cent share of the current market value to the PNG government which would bring the government s equity to 30 per cent.

PNG’s Opposition has accused Wingti s senior mining advisor Bob Needham of being responsible for telling the government Pogera would be a marginal project with minimal returns.

Meanwhile companies with resource projects in PNG have suffered further losses on the Australian Stock Exchange over uncertainty over PNG government's policy towards major resource development. There have been fears the PNG government will not pay for the increase in its stake in Pogera although Finance Minister Sir Julius Chan has said it will pay.