Mr. Tony Williamson

Mr Tony WilliamsonPNG Exploration Manager, Triple Plate Junction

The announcement of the discovery of the latest lode was made last Friday only days after TPJ's PNG general manager, Tony Williamson, told the 9th PNG mining and petroleum investment conference in Sydney his company has a market capitalisation of A$35 million (K83 million) with A$15 million cash (K35 million) in the bank.Even though it is a relative newcomer to the scene, TPJ's PNG operations already employ 45 people and spends almost K500,000 a month. The company also has gold and copper prospects in Vietnam and Zambia.Mr Williamson, a former director of mines at the PNG Department of Mines, said TPJ had been attracted to PNG because of its recognised mineral potential and the regulatory climate provided by the Mining Act.TPJ has an exploration area covering 4,700sqkm and has a further 2,500sqkm under application in PNG.He said the Otibanda gold lodes were each about 4m wide with some intervening lodes present.

Senior management of Madison met last week with the Minister for Mining, The Honourable Sam Akotai, and the Director of the Mines Department, Tony Williamson, to present the work plan for the current exploration program at Mt. Kare which was announced March 11, 2004.

Mines Director Tony Williamson departed unceremoniously after the Department of Personnel refused to renew his contract even though this had been requested by both Mining Minister Sam Akoitai and Mr Aua.

FORMER Papua New Guinea director of mining Tony Williamson has fended off claims of gold smuggling from the Mount Crater area between Eastern Highlands and Chimbu provinces."I spent four years upholding PNG laws on mining.No way am I going to break those now that I've gone into private practice," said Mr Williamson.He was responding to a business story under the headline "Claims of illegal mining" on page 4 of yesterday's edition which he says were riddled with errors.He said Triple Plate Junction - a subsidiary of a London-based company of the same name - was the actual manager of Exploration License (EL No.) 1353 covering the area under dispute.Mr Williamson is the general manager of TPJ.His company is doing exploration on the ground in consultation with Celtic Minerals Ltd who have returned to Canada and MacMin who are concentrating on Wild Dog in Sinivit, East New Britain and their ELs in Milne Bay."Although Triple Plate Junction PLC (TPJ) is a relatively new explorer to PNG, its in-country management and team of 15 experienced PNG geologists supported by good technical assistants and liaison/logistic staff are no strangers to the PNG exploration scene," Mr Williamson said.
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Mr Williamson said the company's licences weree in compliance with the Mining Act 1992 and they have two landowner liaison officers working full time in attending to landowner issues and concerns.