Landowners of the Frieda River copper-gold project are looking forward to the operation moving beyond the exploration stage.
The Frieda River orebody has changed hands multiple times since its discovery in the 1960s. PanAust took over the exploration licence in 2014 and has been able to move the project into the feasibility and permitting stages.
“Frieda River Limited (FRL) and its parent company PanAust are the only companies that have progressed Frieda River to the permitting phase,” FRL project director Phil McCormack said.
“We are proud development partners for the East and West Sepik provinces and PNG. We are committed to Papua New Guinea.”
Armaromin village community leader Afasep Tiptop said the community was thankful that PanAust had stayed with the project for the past 11 years.
“You have our consent, and we want to see Frieda River progress because it will mean much needed infrastructure and services for us like roads, airstrips, health and education,” Tiptop said.
Sokamin village resident Titus Sikitmap voiced similar sentiments.
“Many of our people and leaders have passed on while waiting for the Frieda River project to be developed,” Sikitmap said.
The Frieda River copper-gold project is just one of four multi-billion-kina projects that FRL is hoping to develop in the Sepik region. The others are the Frieda River Hydroelectric project, the Sepik power grid project, and the Sepik infrastructure project.
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