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MCG Aims Pani Gold Project to Start Operating by End of 2025
WINDONESIA July 14, 2024
The Pani Gold Project area. (Merdeka Copper Gold).
Merdeka Copper Gold (MCG) targets the Pani gold project in Gorontalo Province to be in operation by the end of 2025. The project initially faced opposition from local residents, but the company now states that it is in the process of resolving these issues.
“We are in the process of community engagement and have started construction. The target is to start operations by the end of next year,” MCG Corporate Communication Head Tom Malik informed on Jun. 6, 2024.
While preparing for construction, Tom mentioned that the company is also identifying issues and designing programs for the local community, such as in education and the economy. From this assessment, Tom hopes that the programs, which are part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, will address the existing problems.
“When operations begin, the CSR programs must be in place,” Tom said.
The Heirs of Pohuwato Miners Forum had protested and rejected the gold project in the area back in September 2023. As a result of the demonstration, some equipment belonging to MCG and several public facilities in Pohuwato Regency, Gorontalo, were damaged.
The Pani Gold Project in Gorontalo is set to become one of the largest primary gold mines in Indonesia, containing a total mineral resource of 303.1 million tons of ore and 6.9 million ounces of gold. The project is managed by Pani Bersama Jaya (PBJ), Pani Bersama Tambang, Puncak Emas Gorontalo, Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera, and Gorontalo Sejahtera Mining. MCG holds a 70 percent stake in PBJ.
MCG has invested approximately US$114 million since 2022 for resource definition, metallurgical testing, and infrastructure.
MCG will prepare an initial investment of US$250 million according to information from the company's webste. The capital is for developing and building production facilities using Heap Leach (HL). The production capacity at this stage is expected to reach 7 million tons per year (Mtpa) and produce around 140,000 ounces of gold per year.
Furthermore, MCG will invest around US$633 million to build a Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) processing facility by the end of 2028 with a capacity of 7.5 Mtpa.
The company also planned to expand the project in 2031 by investing about US$294 million to increase production capacity to 12 Mtpa. The combined HL and CIL capacity of 19 Mtpa at peak production can produce up to 500,000 ounces of gold per year.
Source: bisnis.tempo.co