Comunidad del pacífico en perspectiva - Volumen 2

PROSPECTS FOR TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION IN THE MINERALS SECTOR BETWEEN CHILE (LATIN AMERICA GENERALLY) AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA (SOUTH PACIFIC GENERALLY) Wilson S. EPhraim Representing Mr. Ebia Oletúale Papua New Guinea as a copper producer has much in common with Chile. For both countries the export of copper (copper and associated gold concentrate in the case of Papua New Guinea). is the single ,greatest generator oí foreign exchange. AIso for both countries production oí copper and concentrate is of great impor– tance as a medium of employment and as a source of government revenue. Copper production is extremely important to the econo– mies of both countries although the dominance is more complete for the chilean economy than for the ,Papua New Guinea econo– my. Papua New Guirea has significant exports oí other commodi– dies, in particular coffee. However it seems likely that another majar copper gold mine in Papua New Guinea may be brought on stream in the middle of the 1980s and though such develop– ment has to be viewed as a positive achievement, it will tend to exacerbate the strength of the Papua New Guinea economy on one commodity copper. Currently there is just one major mining operation in Papua New Guinea, the Panguna Mine, which produces copper and gold from a very large low grade porphyry orebody similar to the mas– sive chilean copper ore bodies. About 100.000 tonnes of ore and 100.000 tonnes of waste rock are mined each day and around 180.000 to 200.000 tonnes of copper and 20.000+ kilograms of gold are produced each year. This output compares with 900.000 tonnes plus of copper in various forms produced in Chile each year. A significant difference between the copper industries of Chile 201