Up for the challenge
Q: How much of the mine life extension is going to be drawn from the existing resources you have in pit, and how important is it to actually find new deposits?
MW: The current life-of-mine plan is based on the current ore body. The next four-to-five years are going to be very lean times for the company and therefore we are conducting enhanced drilling programs within the current operating mine lease, in addition to accelerated exploration programs at our nearmine exploration leases, to provide additional ore.
Q: It’s a very rich deposit the Ok Tedi Mine’s been sitting on for quite some time. What are your hopes for finding more resources?
MW: There is huge potential for this mine to continue well beyond 2025, given the high mineral prospects in the area. However, this is dependent on us finding acceptable waste solutions.
There is huge potential for this mine to continue
well beyond 2025, given the high mineral prospects in the area.
Q: The Western Province relies heavily on the mine for its economic wellbeing. There are some exciting developments in gas occurring, which might mean that Ok Tedi doesn’t have to bear the heavy load quite so much. How do you help the communities around the mine get used to reduced income?
MW: There are a number of benefits that the communities have received from the mine since production commenced in 1984 and over the past 34 years we have continued to work with our communities to ensure that they put the benefits they receive from the mine to good use.
It is an ongoing challenge since there is still a high dependency on the mine but the last five years, I would say, has been the most productive with the excellent work being done by the Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) to introduce initiatives to encourage our communities to become selfsufficient. More needs to be done, but we are certainly on the right track.
Q: Regarding your exploration program, where are you looking at the moment, and will it be in partnership, or will it be as a sole developer of those exploration tenements?
MW: We are actively drilling a number of exploration leases owned 100 per cent by OTML around our current Special Mining Lease and will undertake prefeasibility studies to determine if they are economically viable before we advance to the next stage.
Q: What are going to be the commercial opportunities for contractors or for companies looking to supply goods and services to the mine? Is that going to dry up, or will there still be opportunities?
MW: The mine needs to keep operating and there will still be opportunities; however with the tough times ahead and our strong focus on containing our costs, it is going to affect our contractors and suppliers – we expect them to reduce their prices and rates if they want to retain their business with Ok Tedi.
Q: What copper price do you need to have in the market place for Ok Tedi to make money as a mine?
MW: Our profitability depends on our copper and gold production. With all things being equal, at current metal prices, we need to produce 94,000 tonnes of copper per year and 8890 kilograms of gold to break even.
Q: Finally, your appointment. You’re a Papua New Guinean about to start running a PNG- owned mine. This is a first in Ok Tedi’s history. How significant do you feel this is?
MW: I think it’s very significant, in the sense that Ok Tedi has been the leader in a number of leading edge initiatives and my appointment is one such example. It paves the way for other PNG resource companies to follow the same path in the near future. ■