Hidden Valley Mine
New Guinea is the world’s second largest island and is less than 50 miles north of Australia. The island is divided into two parts, the western part that belongs to Indonesia and the eastern part that is an independent country. This eastern part is known as Papua. On the southeastern side is one of the world’s newest mines, the Hidden Valley mine.
This mine is scheduled to open in the middle of 2009. Extensive ore samples were taken and analyzed in 2008 paving the way for full operations. The mine will be operated under a joint venture agreement between Harmony and an Australian company, Newcrest mining company. This joint venture, which covers all of the mining activities in the ore rich Morobe Providence, will operate under the name Morobe Mining Joint Ventures.
Harmony produced over one and a half million ounces of gold last year making it one of the leading producers in the world. Located in South Africa, they operate many below ground and surface mining operations along with the Hidden Valley facility. When the Hidden Valley Mine is in full production, it will produce a quarter of a million ounces of gold and four million ounces of silver each year. Gold production will peak at 275,000 ounces per year and the life of the mine is expected to last fourteen years.
There will be two open pit mines. One will be a large pit in the Hamata orebody and a second larger pit that will mine the Hidden Valley orebody. Since this is such a rich area for mining, it is possible that subsequent, close proximity mines will be added to the operation extending Hidden Valley’s life cycle.
Extensive work has been completed on site. After delays due to rainy weather, work is progressing at a rapid rate. Construction of permanent structures to house the employees has been completed. The housing unit can accommodate up to 800 employees. By the end of 2008, the overall project was 57% done.
Their have been challenges obstructing the completion of the project. There is a shortage of civil engineering and labor available which has slowed the project. In addition, costs have risen from an estimated total expense of 542 million dollars to a now estimated final cost of 605 million dollars. These issues will dictate how quickly the construction can be completed. Once completed, Hidden Valley will be a top gold mine.
