The Porgera gold project is now in its seventh year of operation
as one of the world's prime gold mining projects in one of the
most underdeveloped and remote regions of the world. The unique gold deposit was development in stages to its present
size of operation with an underground mine of 2000tpd, an open
pit operation moving 210,000tpd and a complex metallurgical
plant treating an average of 16,500tpd of ore. During the past years the operation had to address an array of
issues relating to the "development" of the region and this is still
ongoing. Development means different things to different people and though
the parties that signed the different agreements relating to the
Mining Development Contract were aware of this, none has real- ised the extent to which this is true. The developing company (a joint venture between Placer Pacific
as the Manager, Goldfields Porgera, Highlands Gold and the
Government of PNG), provided funds for risky exploration and
the capital for development of the project. Its shareholders ex- pect an economic and viable mine operation from the deposit to
ensure them returns on their investment. The local people gave up their land, their isolated way of living
and accepted to be out of their comfort zone for some time in
anticipation of a better lifestyle and economic benefits in support
of that lifestyle. The PNG Government has a leg in both camps and expects both
outcomes at the same time. The Government is also the regulator and expects compliance on
top of that. If development in general is to be successful, all parties must
substantially satisfy all expectations. It is evident that the outcome of some elements of development
are reasonably defined (i.e. develop a viable mine to exploit the
deposit), whilst other elements are moving targets (i.e. a better
lifestyle). The seeds for conflict are thus abundantly present and to resolve
them requires the will of all parties in all areas to come to a
solution. This path to problem solving is many times torturous as
each party comes from a different culture and background and
has a different understanding of the parameters in the equation.