Aerial view of the Porgera gold mine. Photo: Zijin Mining
Papua New Guinea's acting prime minister John Rosso says the critically important Porgera goldmine in Enga Province is now due to open in the new year.
There had been hopes it would open last month but various factors have caused delays.
Rosso said the recent signing of the special mining lease for the New Porgera Ltd has cleared the way for Barrick Gold and its partner Zijin Corporation to restart, after a three-year stall over lease negotiations.
Papua New Guinea goldmine opening delayed
Rosso admits the law and order issues around the mine site remain a serious matter.
"But we have got the police commissioner and the police attending to it," he said.
"We have set up the new Kumul Force that will basically be attending to a lot of the issues surrounding project protection and things including Porgera. We will be beefing up police and soldiers up in Porgera and also ensuring that the safety of the citizens there and the mine workers are protected".
PNG Business News reports that the chief executive of Barrick, Mark Bristow, has said that subject to agreement on compensation, the mine was positioned to restart before the end of this year.
He said recruitment was being accelerated to employ the full workforce that will be required for when the mine starts ramping up operations as soon as those agreements are in place.
"It's been a long road, but the end is now in sight," Bristow said.
"Negotiations between Barrick, the government and the other stakeholders required patience and persistence but the spirit of partnership in which they were conducted eventually led to an outcome acceptable to all.
"Barrick's commitment to partnership with its host countries is also reflected in NPL's ownership structure, which ensures the equitable sharing of the value created by Porgera with all stakeholders," he said.