Porgera Gold Mine

The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea (PNG), located at the head of the Porgera Valley. The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,700 m, in a region of high rainfall, landslides, and frequent earthquakes.

The Porgera Gold Mine is operated by the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV). It began production in 1990 and was developed and operated by Placer Dome which was acquired in 2006 by Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company. Emperor Gold Mine, holding a minority stake of 20%, sold to Barrick in April 2007. This gave Barrick a 95% ownership of the operation. The remaining 5% is owned by Mineral Resources Enga (MRE), which is owned by the Enga Provincial Government, the Papua New Guinea National Government and Porgera Landowners.

Porgera Gold Mine is the second largest mine in Papua New Guinea and is regarded as one of the world's top ten producing gold mines. In 2009 it produced 572,595 ounces of gold and 94,764 ounces of silver and had 2,500 employees and 500 contractors. Since it began operating, the mine has produced more than 16 million ounces of gold and almost 3 million ounces of silver, accounting for about 12 percent of Papua New Guinea’s total exports. The mine′s proven and probable mineral reserves as of 2009 amount to 8.1 million ounces of gold.