Dede Sophie

TELSTRA, Australia’s leading telecommunications and technology company, today announced it has officially acquired Digicel Pacific in partnership with the Australian Government. Telstra will continue to invest in and operate the business across its six South Pacific markets – Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Photo: Collin Stone, Digicel PNG CEO Oliver Camplin-Warner, Telstra International CEO, said the deal was an exciting milestone for the Digicel Pacific business and its customers in Papua New Guinea. “We’re very pleased to welcome Digicel Pacific into the Telstra family. The Digicel Pacific team in PNG have amazing local expertise and are leaders in digital experiences for their customers. Together, we’ll work to ensure Digicel Pacific remains the top provider in PNG,” he said. Mr Camplin-Warner confirmed there would not be any local job losses in the Pacific as part of the acquisition and the current Digicel Pacific team would continue the day-to-day running

The government of Papua New Guinea, Barrick Niugini Limited and New Porgera Limited have  signed an agreement to progress with the resumption of operations at the Porgera gold mine, which have been suspended since 2020. Porgera hosts an orebody with measured and indicated resources of 10 million ounces and inferred resources of 3.4 million ounces. After initial ramp up and optimisation of the Wangima pit, the mine is forecast to produce an average of 700,000 ounces per year, achieving a milestone towards its potential Tier One status. The New Porgera Progress Agreement (NPPA), signed today, confirms that all parties are committed to reopening the mine at the earliest opportunity, in line with the terms of the Porgera Project Commencement Agreement and the New Porgera Limited Shareholders Agreement both concluded in 2022.  The New Porgera project team will now move ahead with the filings for a special mining lease and progressing the other conditions set out in the Commencement Agreemen