A framework agreement was reached in April, which would see the mine owned 51% by PNG stakeholders and 49% by Barrick Nuigini, which it said was now a 50:50 joint venture between Barrick and China's Zijin Mining.

Bristow expected to meet with Prime Minister James Marape and senior government officials during the visit between October 12-15, part of his quarterly review visits to Barrick sites around the world. 

"While the current pace of the negotiations is not as rapid as we might have hoped, certain commercial arrangements, as defined under the framework agreement, need to be finalised to give our shareholders confidence in the reinvestment," Bristow said.

"I sincerely hope we can get these agreements signed off by the state as soon as possible, particularly given the ongoing cost of keeping the mine under care and maintenance.

"We all need to put in our best efforts towards concluding the remaining agreements if we want to have any chance of restarting the mine this year or early next year."

Barrick reported Porgera care and maintenance costs of US$15 million in the June quarter.

The Canada-based miner's share of Porgera's production in 2019 was 284,000 ounces of gold, at all-in sustaining costs of $1,003/oz.

Meanwhile, Harmony Gold Mining and Newcrest Mining continue aiming to develop their Wafi-Golpu copper-gold joint venture in PNG, with Harmony saying in August talks had taken place with government leaders about resuming the permitting process for the project.