Ok Tedi back to the old grind (March 19, 2004)

The mill at the Ok Tedi copper-gold mine in northwestern Papua New Guinea is back to full capacity following a two-month shutdown of one of its grinding circuits.

A mechanical failure in one of the plant’s two semi-autogenous grinding mills in January forced the operation to cut its throughput in half while repairs were made. The mill is now repaired, although it will be shut down again near the end of this year or in early 2005 for scheduled maintenance, which will include replacement of all the damaged parts.

Toronto-based Inmet Mining (IMN-T), which owns 18% of the operating company, Ok Tedi Mines, said the shutdown cost the mine about 12,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate; Inmet’s share represented about 3% of the company’s planned copper production in 2004.

Ok Tedi’s other shareholders are the government of Papua New Guinea, with 30%, and the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program, with 52%.