The Frieda River Project represents a nation building opportunity for Papua New Guinea and a transformative sustainable development opportunity for the Sepik region.
The Project will help build stronger and more viable communities by establishing necessary public infrastructure, generating skilled employment, and creating business opportunities for local people.
The Frieda River Project comprises the Frieda River Copper-Gold Project (FRCGP), Frieda River Hydroelectric Project (FRHEP), Sepik Infrastructure Project (SIP) and Sepik Power Grid Project (SPGP).
PROJECT SPEND US$200 million
Invested in advancing the Frieda River Project in Papua New Guinea since 2014.
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Papua New Guinean employment.
in direct COVID-19 support in 2021.
Since 2014, the Project has paid for the school fees of over 200 students from the seven landowner communities. In 2021, 178 students benefited from this education assistance program.
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for the Crocodile and Arts Festival since 2011.
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Strong community engagement, with 21 Community Leaders Forums held since 2014.
of goods and services sourced from local suppliers.
The Frieda River Project will be configured to generate up to 490 megawatts of clean power, making it Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) largest single renewable power generation facility.
The proposed dam will provide long-life renewable power making it one of PNG’s largest single renewable power generation facilities, capable of providing clean, sustainable and reliable energy for more than 100 years.
The Project aligns with the Papua New Guinea Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030 providing energy, transport and communications that enables an integrated approach to mine development.
The hydro power solution is greener than fuel oils and opens opportunities for increased electrification of mining fleet and vehicles.
Our ambition is to construct a world leading green mine with minimal carbon emissions, which is enabled by the hydro power dam.
Copper is the most widely used mineral in clean energy technologies. An increased supply of copper is essential for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and limiting the global temperature rise to 2 per cent. The International Energy Agency has identified that the combination of the concentration of copper supply from a small number of countries (China, Chile and DRC) and a forecast supply deficit, pose serious threats to achieving those targets.
The Frieda River Project will perform a critical role by bringing additional copper supply to meet forecast demand, while remaining environmentally and socially sustainable.
The Project proposal is based on the extraction of the Horse-Ivaal-Trukai- Ekwai-Koki (HITEK) porphyry copper-gold deposit which contains an estimated 12 million tonnes (Mt) of copper. The HITEK deposit represents one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper resources and is critical to meeting increased global demand fuelled by the clean energy transition.
In 2018, PanAust completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sepik Development Project (also known as the Frieda River Project) which was submitted to the Government of Papua New Guinea’s Conservation Environment Protection Authority as part of the Project permitting process in December.
The EIS recognises the importance of the Sepik River, both from an environmental perspective and the valuable contribution it makes to people’s lives and livelihoods and the development of Papua New Guinea.
It incorporates comprehensive environmental, socio-economic and cultural heritage baseline data obtained over a period of 10 years. Extensive stakeholder engagement was undertaken during this time and will continue well into the future.
Since 2014, Frieda River Limited has invested in community development programs aimed at improving the living standards of its neighbouring communities.
These programs enhance community capacity by empowering people to determine and progress their own development priorities.
