History
The Tabar Islands Group, consisting of Simberi, Tatau, Mapua and (Big) Tabar Island lies in the north of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea approximately 130 kilometres east of Kavieng; the provincial capital. The four islands are located 60 kilometres northwest of Lihir Island and cover approximately 270 square kilometres.
Set out below is a history of the significant events in the development of the Simberi Oxide project.
Set out below is a history of the significant events in the development of the Simberi Oxide project.
| 1981 | Commencement of modern exploration by Nord Pacific and other JV partners. |
| 1983 to 1993 | Exploration over the Tabar Islands carried out by a JV comprising Kennecott Explorations (Australia) Pty Ltd and Niugini Mining as operators and Nord Pacific as the minor partner. |
| 1993 | Nord Pacific acquired the interests of Kennecott Explorations and Niugini Mining who elect to focus on the development of mining operations on Lihir Island. |
| December 1996 | Based on a favorable feasibility study, a mining lease (ML136) is granted to Simberi Gold Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Nord Pacific. |
| December 1996 to 2003 | Development of the project deferred due to a decline of the gold price in the late 1990s. |
| 2003 | A favorable outlook for gold prices led to a review and update of the 1996 feasibility study. The updated study confirmed the technical and economic viability of the commissioning of an oxide gold mining project on Simberi Island. |
| 2003 | Allied Gold acquires Nord Pacific and obtains 100% ownership of the project by 2005. |
| 2005 | The 2003 feasibility study was updated to include higher reserves and to investigate a higher process plant throughput of 1.65 Mtpa. The study known as the Optimised Feasibility Study resulted in a project that would mine and process 15.4 Mt of ore over a 9.4 year mine life to recover 585,000 ounces of gold. |
| April 2006 | Allied submitted a variation of proposal to the PNG Department of Mines to process at a higher rate of 2 Mtpa and to deliver ore from the remote pits by means of suspended conveyor system known as a RopeconTM. |
| July 2006 | Updated reserves and in-pit resources estimates by Golder Associates resulted in 17.7Mt of ore grading 1.37g/t Au and containing approximately 785,000 ounces of gold. |
| 2006 | Allied Board resolves to proceed with mine construction and awards contracts for the design and construction of a process plant capable of processing 2.2 Mt of ore per annum, associated ancillaries including power, water, tailings disposal and infrastructure including a wharf and a camp. |
| March 2007 | The landing barge, the LCT Lady Geraldine, commences operations, minimising delivery times for the delivery of materials to Simberi island. |
| May 2007 | Formal approval is received from the PNG Mineral Resources Authority to extend the term of ML136 to expire on 2 December 2018. |
| December 2007 | Dry commissioning activities of the process plant commence. |
| February 2008 | First gold is poured. |
| May 2008 | Successful commissioning of the state of the art aerial rope conveyor (RopeConTM). |
| May 2009 | Gold resource increase by 45% to 4.7 million ounces. |
| June 2009 | Allied Gold ore reserves exceed 1 million ounces. |
| June 2009 | Allied Gold achieves 100,000 ounces production milestone. |
| July 2009 | Significant Gold Intercepts at Pigibo Prospect. |