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| Newcrest Mining's Lihir gold operation in Papua New Guinea, where a number of more sustainable power options are being mooted. |
Newcrest Mining Ltd.'s projects could help usher micro-LNG into Papua New Guinea, one of a number of power options more sustainable than diesel being suggested in the country, CEO Sandeep Biswas said.
Biswas said in a Feb. 11 analyst fiscal 2021 half-year results call that while Newcrest will have diesel backup on-site for its Lihir gold mine, it could become a "big enabler" of micro-LNG.
There are also other power projects being "mooted" in Papua New Guinea such as power sourced from wood chips and hydro, which also present more sustainable options, he added.
While the power options for Lihir are "still up in the air," Biswas said the biggest impact Newcrest can make from a sustainability viewpoint is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and moving away from fuel oil to gas would be a "fantastic" option, which could then underpin a bigger industry for that power source in-country.
Executive Director and CFO Gerard Bond also said the "exhaustive" process leading to the granting of Lihir's environmental permit in December 2020 also "tested the broadest range of environmental considerations."
In January, the Australian Financial Review reported that Wapu Sonk, managing director of Papua New Guinea national oil company Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd., flagged a floating gas-to-power project near the city of Lae to act as a "fuel hub" to receive and store LNG, regasifying and distributing gas for power.
The government also wants to attract miners that could use the gas-fired power from a 75-MW plant that is delivered into the local grid.
Biswas said in a media call later on Feb. 11 that hydro and gas are the two most likely power sources to be developed further in the country, as Papua New Guinea's topography and foliage "doesn't lend itself" to wind farms and solar installations.
Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd. is investigating the feasibility of potential projects to develop hydropower resources with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. and the Papua New Guinea government, though Biswas said Newcrest is not talking to the Australian iron ore miner at the moment about that option.
While Biswas said he is not yet sure what the starting power will be for his company's Wafi-Golpu copper-gold mine, "it's in everyone's interests to move towards a less carbon-intensive base, which is what the government is committed to doing."
His deep experience with hydro during his days in the aluminum industry — including with Rio Tinto Aluminium Ltd. — have taught him that such power projects are time intensive, so hydro power is unlikely to be used for Wafi-Golpu initially, he said.
However, a gas-fired facility "may be available" from which the mine could take power initially, Biswas said, otherwise it will start off with heavy fuel oil before it takes gas. Longer-term, Biswas is confident that hydro production capacity will be built in Papua New Guinea given the country's resources, and will then form part of the grid.
"If we can be an enabler for some of these [more sustainable power options], with sensible commercial agreements, then we want to be part of that," Biswas said.
Similarly, he said that while Lihir is "reasonably all set up" for the micro-LNG solution, "obviously the price has got to be right."
"Some of our power turbines already have dual-power capability" so they can accept gas, Biswas said, while others would have to be modified, but he is happy with that for the sake of cutting the company's greenhouse footprint.
Any potential commercial negotiations for micro-LNG powered energy can start once the concept has been technically proven, he said.