Mar 2, 2026 · 30 min · 11 segments
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! The Panguna Mine in Bougainville contains an estimated $100 billion in proven copper and gold…
Carmel FisherHost
Just to touch on this flagship Panguna opportunity, you're developing limestone production, road infrastructure and electric utilities, essentially building Bougainville's industrial foundation.
How is this diversified approach going to enhance the investment thesis, firstly? And then are these infrastructure assets potential near-term revenue generators that could fund exploration at Mainoke and Corrado? I think you may have touched on that.
Or is the strategy higher level to position NUMA NUMA as an integrated development partner that will capture value across the entire mining ecosystem?
Well, listen, I don't mean to flatter you, but you are a very observant person.
And you put your finger right on our basic strategy, which is we're not just a mining company.
We've found a place, Bougainville, that has incredible resources, not just minerals, but fisheries and so forth, and as well as a lovely people.
And our goal, therefore, is to be the number one or among the number one or two commercial enterprises in that land.
However, you've also pointed out that to rebuild the Panguna mine, let's start with the most basic thing.
Why? Because this is a porphyry copper and gold mine and mines like that need high quality lime to mix in the concentrators to separate the copper from the gold.
So we are also redeveloping the manatee limestone quarry and calcination plant, which supplied that line.
So We can't do anything in Panguna until we get the line because otherwise we have to import it from someplace else.
And it was way too expensive even in the original mine until they discovered the high quality deposits in Manitou.
Back in World War II, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built roads over the mountains so that our troops, which were stationed on the west side of the island, could fight the Japanese on the east side of the island.
Again, It's not just about mining, but you've got to have the ancillary infrastructure.
Just to touch on this flagship Panguna opportunity, you're developing limestone production, road infrastructure and electric utilities, essentially building Bougainville's industrial foundation.
How is this diversified approach going to enhance the investment thesis, firstly? And then are these infrastructure assets potential near-term revenue generators that could fund exploration at Mainoke and Corrado? I think you may have touched on that.
Or is the strategy higher level to position NUMA NUMA as an integrated development partner that will capture value across the entire mining ecosystem?
Well, listen, I don't mean to flatter you, but you are a very observant person.
And you put your finger right on our basic strategy, which is we're not just a mining company.
We've found a place, Bougainville, that has incredible resources, not just minerals, but fisheries and so forth, and as well as a lovely people.
And our goal, therefore, is to be the number one or among the number one or two commercial enterprises in that land.
However, you've also pointed out that to rebuild the Panguna mine, let's start with the most basic thing.
Why? Because this is a porphyry copper and gold mine and mines like that need high quality lime to mix in the concentrators to separate the copper from the gold.
So we are also redeveloping the manatee limestone quarry and calcination plant, which supplied that line.
So We can't do anything in Panguna until we get the line because otherwise we have to import it from someplace else.
And it was way too expensive even in the original mine until they discovered the high quality deposits in Manitou.
Back in World War II, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built roads over the mountains so that our troops, which were stationed on the west side of the island, could fight the Japanese on the east side of the island.
Again, It's not just about mining, but you've got to have the ancillary infrastructure.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
