Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with Highlands Pacific Limited (ASX:HIG) Managing Director and CEO, John GoodingLelde Smits: Highlands Pacific Limited
(ASX:HIG) is a minerals explorer and producer focussed in Papua New Guinea. The Company has exposure to gold, copper, nickel and cobalt and is about 30 per cent owned by the PNG Government and PNG based funds. I’m Lelde Smits and joining me at ASX Investor Series in Sydney is the Company’s Managing Director and CEO, John Gooding. John welcome.
John Gooding: Thank you Lelde.
Lelde Smits: Highlands Pacific is a JV partner in the Frieda River copper gold project. What stage is the project and could you outline the potential of the resource?
John Gooding: It’s a very large resource, its world class. And we’re developing the feasibility study with our new joint venture partners PanAust, who took over the project after Glencore PLC (JSE:GLN) and Xstrata Limited (LON:XTA) exited in August.
Lelde Smits: The Company also holds an interest in the producing Ramu nickel and cobalt mine. Could you outline what your current run rate is and also your output targets?
John Gooding: This project’s running at about 70 per cent capacity at the moment, it’s in commissioning phase. So this year we think we’ll produce about 22,000 tonnes of contained nickel. And next year we’re hoping to achieve the 31,000 tonnes of nickel nameplate capacity production rate.
Lelde Smits: You’ve also been looking for partners for the Star Mountains exploration tenements. What progress have you made so far?
John Gooding: We’ve gone a long way to identify the right partner. We’re just in the final stages of negotiations and we’re hoping to be able to announce something very soon.
Lelde Smits: What are your plans for further exploration at Star Mountains?
John Gooding: It’ll be a big program. This is a whole new copper gold province that we discovered some years ago. And it’s got huge potential for our Company and their joint venture partner, and for PNG to host the next big copper gold mine in the country.
Lelde Smits: The mining industry itself has been a bit knocked about this year on the back of lower prices. Why do you believe PNG minerals are a compelling investment decision?
John Gooding: PNG’s the home of really large world class ore bodies and it’s hosted many. And we’ve got a lot of big world class partners there already operating mines, like Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) and Newcrest Mining Limited
(ASX:NCM). So we think it’s got a history of producing great mines and it will continue to do so.
Lelde Smits: Final question John, what are Highland Pacific’s main priorities now and where would you like to see the Company a year from now?
John Gooding: We’d like to see Ramu delivering at 100 per cent nameplate capacity next year. That’s the nickel cobalt project, Frieda River with the feasibility study completed and an approval to go into development, by the end of next year. And our major joint venture partner at Star Mountains having found a deposit that could be economic, that we could start working on.
Lelde Smits: John Gooding, thank you for the update from Highlands Pacific.
John Gooding: Thank you very much.
Ends
