Hidden Valley Mine
| Hidden Valley Mine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
| Mining technology | Open pit | ||
| Information about the mining company | |||
| Operating company | Harmony Gold / Newcrest Mining | ||
| Employees | 2,390 | ||
| Start of operation | 2009 | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | Gold Silver | ||
| Degradation of | silver | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 6 ° 58 '4.4 " S , 146 ° 25' 29.4" E | ||
|
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| Location | Lae | ||
| province | Morobe | ||
| Country | Papua New Guinea | ||
The Hidden Valley Mine is an open pit silver and gold mine in Papua New Guinea , about 210 kilometers northwest of Port Moresby , and 90 kilometers southwest of the port city of Lae in Morobe Province . The open pit mine is part of the 50:50 Morobe mining joint venture between the South African gold producer Harmony Gold and the Australian Newcrest Mining , which also includes the Wafi Golpu project.
history
The CRA Exploration Pty Ltd. discovered the gold and silver deposit in Hidden Valley in 1984 and the gold deposit on the immediately adjacent Kaveroi Creek in 1992 . In 1987, Renison Goldfields found Consolidated Gold in Hamata , 5 kilometers away . Harmony bought the deposits in 2003 and 2008, respectively 2008, Newcrest bought for 525 million dollars to the project and received in mid-2009 50 percent of the joint venture. At full capacity, Hidden Valley is expected to produce 255,000 ounces of gold and 4 million ounces of silver per year. The gold resources on Hidden Valley are 5.4 million ounces.
Exposure
The opencast mine started production in 2009 and reached the maximum daily production rate in May 2010. Hidden Valley employed 2,390 people in 2011, including 1,440 contract workers.
criticism
The tailings from Hidden Valley destroyed the system of Watut River. The water becomes muddy, and sediments, stones and debris in the river bed cause floods that affect the crops of local landowners. The mine operators do not keep to the commitments from the environmental plan, according to which retention basins should be built for the overburden contaminated with heavy metals . In early February 2011, the owners banned the population from using a jungle path that brought food and medicine to the villages on the river. The Bulldog Track was created in 1943 by Australian soldiers and locals as a supply route into the Markham River valley . The people from the villages of Yanina, Anandea, Yanawe, Tekadu 1 and Tekadu 2 were able to bring their goods for sale to the market in Kaindi on Eddie Creek and in Wau . By blocking the Bulldog tracks they were forced for a walk and a night in Niukeva, a place in a banana boat to get along for the ride up to the Yopoi Bridge, then with one as PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) designated Driving pickup trucks to Port Moresby - a total of three or four days.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Hidden Valley . Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. 2010. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ↑ Mine waste destroys the environment (PDF; 472 kB) Pacific News. No. 85 / February 2011, Pacific Observatory
