Lihir Gold Limited (LGL) is a major global gold producer with operations in Papua New Guinea (PNG), West Africa and Australia. The company’s head office is located in Port Moresby, PNG, and in 2005 LGL established its global corporate base in Brisbane, Australia. The company is incorporated in PNG, where it operates one of the world’s largest gold mines and processing facilities on Lihir Island in New Ireland province. LGL is also developing an underground mine and process plant at the historic gold mining centre of Ballarat, north-west of Melbourne in Victoria.
In June 2008, LGL finalized a merger with Perth-based gold producer Equigold NL. Through the merger, LGL now has operations at Mount Rawdon in Queensland and in Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa. Combined from its four operations, LGL has approximately 25 million ounces in reserves. In 2008 LGL produced 882,000 ounces of gold, with production in 2009 forecast to exceed one million ounces, including 770,000 – 840,000 ounces from Lihir Island, 130,000 – 160,000 ounces from Bonikro, 90,000 – 100,000 ounces from Mount Rawdon, and up to 20,000 ounces from Ballarat.