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R A M U N I C K E L

PNG’s First Nickel-Cobalt

Exporter

History appointed by RNJV responsible for million tonnes of laterite ore

the development, construction and averaging 1.01% Ni (nickel) and
The Ramu deposit was first operation of the project. 0.10% Co (cobalt) – adequate for a
discovered five decades ago in 1962.
A number of companies were designed 20 year mine life which
Resources and Mine Life can be extended to 40 years
involved in the project in the early
years before Highlands Gold The Ramu deposit contains 143 according to the potential capacity
Limited (now Highlands Pacific)
took over the management of the
current joint venture in 1992.

A prefeasibility study was carried

out in 1996 which indicated the
nickel-cobalt resource had the
potential to be commercially viable.
Following completion of a
feasibility study by Highlands
Pacific Ltd, the National
Government granted the project a
Special Mining Lease in 2000.

A global hunt for a credible joint

venture partner ensued. Following
extensive difficulties in sourcing a
partner, an approach was made by Ramu project location map.
the PNG Government to China.
This resulted in the entry of the MCC Ramu NiCo Limited which is fully owned by MCC-JJJ
Metallurgical Corporation of China 85%
Mining Development Ltd of China which has four shareholders:
Limited (MCC), which agreed to
finance and build the mine. After a 61% MCC China Limited
careful due diligence, the master
agreement and the mining 13% Jinchuan Group Limited
development contract were signed
in 2005 and 2006 respectively. 13% Jinlin Ji’en Nickel Industry Corporation Limited

The subsidiaries of MCC (MCC 13% Jiuquan Iron and Steel Group
Ramu), Highlands Pacific Limited
(RNL) and MRDC (MRML and 8.56% Ramu Nickel Ltd (a subsidiary of Highlands Pacific)
MRRL) formed Ramu NiCo Joint
Venture for the project 3.94% Mineral Resources Ramu Ltd (MRRL; a subsidiary of MRDC)
development in 2006. Ramu NiCo
Management (MCC) Ltd is Joint Venture Partners in the Ramu Project.

PROFILE - TWELFTH EDITION 2013 135

Profile2012:Layout 1 11/14/12 1:43 PM
and exploration.
Ore from the Kurumbukari mine
site, which will be rehabilitated with
the use of top soil removed and
stored prior to mining, is treated at
the beneficiation plant to produce
3.3 million tonnes a year at full
production that will be piped as
slurry to the Basamuk refinery
plant. The slurry pipeline that
connects the mine with the
Basamuk refinery plant on the coast,
75km east of Madang, is 135km
long.
The Basamuk plant will produce a
high grade, high purity mixed nickel
and cobalt hydroxide product that
will be exported for smelting and
refining. This product will contain
31,150 tonnes of nickel and 3,300
tonnes of cobalt annually.
Construction
In November 2006, the ground
breaking ceremony was held at
Basamuk, where the refinery was
designed to be located.
Large scale construction began in
Kurumbukari mine site.
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Page 136
2008 with much of the physical
structure of the mine and plant
almost completed by the end of
2009 and early 2010.
The following figures provide a
sense of scale of this construction
and engineering feat: 4.5 million
metres of earth works completed;
195,000 cubic metres of concrete
laid, 48,000 tonnes of steel
structures erected, more than
23,000 units of equipment installed
with a total weight of 16,000
tonnes and 227 kilometres of
supply/drainage and process pipe
laid, in addition to the 135
kilometre pipeline.
More than 2,000 nationals were
employed by the contractors and
Ramu NiCo during the peak period
of the construction
Ramu NiCo has succeeded in
constructing an international
standard mining project in just over
two years, having overcome
countless challenges. Even
internationally, few mining project
of such size and complexity have
been constructed in such a short
time. The speed and efficiency of
the construction are a credit to the
staff, both international and local,
who have worked tirelessly to see
the project grow and succeed.
These achievements are also credit
to the host community whose loyal
support enabled this development
to happen.
Current Status
The US$1.5 billion project
currently employs 1,367 people at
the Kurumbukari mine and
Basamuk refinery plant.
Commissioning of the project was
originally scheduled to commence
in November 2009 but this was
delayed substantially through
litigation regarding the deep sea
tailings placement (DSTP) system
for the tailings.
The two year hiatus in project
completion, following substantial
capital expenditure, only came to an
end when the Supreme Court on 22
December, 2011 refused to grant a
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Basamuk refinery plant.
permanent injunction to stop the
mine. It also refused to overturn a
National Court decision rejecting a
permanent injunction on the DSTP
system.
In December 2011, PNG’s Chief
Inspector of Mines approved ‘load
commissioning’ to enable the
systematic commissioning to
commence. The project, which has
now been undergoing
commissioning since March 3,
2012, is anticipated to reach full
production by the end of 2013 or
early 2014.
Since the commissioning started,
more then 650,000 tonnes of dry
ore have been mined and 220,000
tonnes of ore transported via the
slurry pipeline to the refinery plant
by end August 2012. The first
mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide
intermediate product was produced
on March 20 2012, a historical date.
Two of the three high pressure
autoclaves have undergone load
commissioning and both are now
operating simultaneously. The next
milestone, scheduled for early 2013,
is to get the third autoclave load
commissioned and to operate all
three autoclaves together.
Environmental Monitoring
Ramu NiCo is committed to
applying the best resources towards
reducing the environmental impacts
of its operation. Over the past years,
it has conducted extensive programs
to ensure that its impacts are
monitored and properly mitigated
and the local community constantly
informed. These efforts will only
increase as the company goes into
the operational phase.
Continuous monitoring is part of
the approval conditions and has
been a focus of the environmental
work. In preparation for the
operational phase, in March 2010,
Ramu NiCo submitted the
Operational Stage Environmental
Management Plan (OEMP) to the
Department of Environment and
Conservation (DEC) for approval.
The OEMP contains 20 sub-plans
to monitor and manage the impacts
of various aspects of the operation.
The OEMP is being independently
reviewed by experts engaged by the
DEC.
The company has also worked to
further improve its internal
environmental monitoring capacity
through the appointment of a
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RAMU NICKEL
Supervisor of Monitoring and
Compliance; establishment of a
monitoring laboratory at its
Madang base office and
development and implementation
of a comprehensive monitoring
schedule at site.
In addition to regular monitoring
activities, Ramu NiCo has also
worked with external experts and
has completed two major
monitoring programs.
In February 2009, the
Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO) was engaged to conduct a
baseline assessment of the status of
the tropical marine benthic and
pelagic communities adjacent to
and distant from the Basamuk
refinery. The research further
improved the company’s
understanding of the baseline
environment conditions, and it was
subsequently submitted to the
DEC.
In December 2010, Ramu NiCo
conducted aquatic biological
monitoring in the mine area in
partnership with Hydrobiology Pty
Ltd of Australia. This monitoring
included water and sediment
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sampling, and hydrological site
inspection. The first phase of the
study concentrated around the
Kurumbukari mine site, which
includes Marum, Banu, Anagri,
Eastern and Banap rivers. The
second phase focused on the Ramu
River, starting at the Moimara
swamp area upstream of the newly
built Ramu NiCo bridge and the
mine site. The monitoring
continued at several sites along the
Ramu River, including Sepu,
Useruk and Bamun.
Ramu NiCo has made a concerted
effort to raise awareness and
improve understanding about its
environment impacts and its
environmental protection strategies.
The company conducted several
environmental awareness seminars
at various locations in the project
impacted areas reaching over
16,000 people.
These awareness programs provided
Ramu NiCo with opportunities to
better understand the issues most
concerning the host communities
and to obtain feedback on the
company’s environmental
conservation efforts. In addition to
addressing the communities’
National staff working at Ramu.
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Page 138
concerns, the company used the
seminars to reiterate commitment
to minimising impacts and to share
the data and analysis behind the
company’s mitigation strategies.
To date, the company has invested
more than US$3 million in
environmental management
programs.
Investing in the Community
Pursuing sustainable development
for the project impacted landowners
is also a commitment of Ramu
NiCo. The Ramu Project region
covers some of the least developed
areas. Ramu NiCo takes its Social
and Economic (SEDP) program
commitments as seriously as its
commercial commitments.
During 2009 and 2010, the project
has invested US$350,000 to
improve education and health
access, and increase agriculture
production in the project area.
The agriculture assistance program
has been progressing well.
number of model farms have been
set up in the Basamuk plant site area
with the assistance of Chinese
agricultural experts, as training sites
to teach agricultural skills to local
landowners. The Community
Affairs Department’s Agriculture
section assists farmers in the inland
and coastal pipeline areas with
planting cocoa – a potential cash
crop for the local area. It also
provides training in rice cultivation
and vegetable farming.
Major activities for Community
Affairs agriculture program include:
provision of agricultural extension
services; regular monitoring, and
evaluation to determine people-
level impacts; and formulation of
community developmental proposal
for submission to government
where possible.
The overall purpose of the
agricultural programs is to maintain
food security in the project
impacted and affected areas, wealth
creation and increased economic
activity at village level,
empowerment of people
(employment creation) and to
enable project impacted people to
A take better ownership of mine’s
primary activities.
The company has spent K10 million
on kit homes under a relocation
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Mr. Cyril, community based health officer at Kurumbukari mine site, examining a child.
program for landowners affected by
the project. In accordance with the
Relocation and Compensation
Agreement, the company has so far
constructed 45 houses in two
relocation sites, 30 at Enekuai and
15 at Danagar.
The relocation has been used as a
local business development
opportunity and more than half of
the expenditure related to
relocation construction was
committed to landowner
companies.
Five primary schools and two clinic
centres were built by Ramu NiCo
for the impacted landowners, as well
as four offices for the project
landowner associations. Water and
power supplies were also provided
for three villages at Basamuk. Free
medicines are donated every month
to the clinics and school
sponsorships and fees are provided
annually for landowner children.
By the end of 2011, MCC had
spent over K500 million procuring
local supplies. It had also awarded
spin-off business worth over K200
million to landowner companies.
Over K10 million was paid in
compensation to landowners, in
addition to support for a range of
community projects.
By fulfilling its MoA obligations,
Ramu NiCo is demonstrating its
Page 139
support for sustainable
development. However, challenges
associated with the execution of
some assistance projects are
illustrative of larger systemic
challenges that exist in Madang
Province.
The company is seeking improved
collective commitment to these
projects from all parties involved,
including the Government and local
partners. A challenge that may be
greater than the lack of physical
infrastructure is that of human
capacity. Improved human capacity
will help to ensure these assistance
projects yield tangible benefits for
the local people over the longer-
term.
Strengthening HR
Management
Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) is
also moving forward to build a
comprehensive human resource
management system for the
operational phase. This is vital with
the construction phase ending and
commissioning underway and
production imminent.
It also ensures that challenges faced
by the HR System during the
construction phase are solved
gradually and confidently during
the operation and production.
Employment at the project is on a
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RAMU NICKEL
priority basis as follows: project
impacted landowners, Madang
Province nationals, PNG nationals,
then from the international market.
Ongoing Challenges
Ramu is the first nickel project in
PNG, and utilises leading edge high
pressure acid leach (HPAL)
technology. Commissioning is
complicated and challenging
especially as it involves three very
large autoclaves.
Looking Ahead
The Ramu Project will continue to
play a valuable part in the socio-
economic development of the
immediate communities, the
district, the Madang province and
the nation. It has provided
increased revenue to the local
people, job opportunities, taxation
benefits, infrastructure
improvement during the project
construction and commissioning
phase, with more such benefits to
come during the operation phase.
Ramu NiCo, is a genuine and
determined developer that is
striving to achieve sustainable
development for the project, the
local communities and all other
stakeholders.
This is manifested in the Project’s
motto, “One Ramu NiCo, One
Community.”
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