Agility lands Lihir gold logistics deal in PNG

The Swiss firm's Brisbane office has landed an agreement with Lihir Gold Ltd (LGL) to provide freight management services for Lihir’s Million Ounce Plant Upgrade (MOPU), on Lihir Island, north of New Ireland.

The project material logistics, expected to be more than 50,000 freight tonnes, will be managed by Agility Brisbane and sourced from multiple locations, including the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia.

"With an estimated completion date of two years, it is when completed, LGL will produce more than 1m ounces of gold annually at its Lihir Island operation," the Brisbane office said.

Agility’s office in Lae will assist with MOPU logistics services, including transportation of cargo from Lae to Lihir Island, as part of the existing Agility Project Logistics Brisbane contract.

Agility managed the original Lihir Gold Mine construction from 1995 to 1997, transporting more than 180,000 freight tonnes, the company said.

The project is focused on the installation of an additional autoclave to the process plant which has is a wider diameter and double the capacity of each of the three existing autoclaves.

Annual throughput should increase to a maximum of about 11m-12m tonnes, lifting gold production by up to 240,000 ounces per year, according to Lihir.

Construction of the expansion began in 2008, with the new infrastructure scheduled to be in full operation during 2012.