About 3km2 of the central Luise
Caldera, in which the Lihir orebody
is located, is geothermally active
wit.lj gas seeps and fumaroles, and in
some areas, a water table at boiling
point.
The proposed mine, adjacent to
Luise Harbor, will be excavated to
more than 200m below sea level and
will extend into the geothermal
system to depths at which current
rock temperatures are 170C.