Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) mineral exploration and mining sectors were on display at the Prospectors and Developers’ Association of Canada (PDAC) earlier this month.
Held in Toronto from March 2–5, PDAC is one of the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention, attracting over 30,000 global attendees annually.
A team made up of members from the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) and the Minister of Mining attended the convention, including MRA managing director Jerry Garry and PNG Mining for Mining Wake Goi.
The purpose of their attendance was to promote mineral exploration in PNG which has seen a decline since 2019.
“Between 2012-2018, most of the country was taken up by companies exploring for mineral resources,” the MRA said. “However, since 2019, PNG has seen a decline in mineral exploration interest due to lack of geoscience data amongst other issues.
“Another major concern for the government has been the depletion of mineral resources, and the fact that most of the major operating mines will have closed down by 2060.”
As over 60 per cent of PNG’s revenue is driven by the mining sector, increasing exploration in the country has long been a primary focus of the MRA.
“As a country, without exploration, there will be no mining,” Garry said in August 2024.
“It is therefore important to start looking for new mines now, because the lead time from discovery to commissioning of projects is between 11–50 years, as in the case of the Frieda River project.”
The Frieda River gold project was discovered in 1967, but is yet to be commissioned.
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