At 14,000 feet, in the remote jungles of New Guinea is the largest gold and copper deposit in the world. Getting to that deposit and building a profitable mine was one of the biggest engineering challenges ever.
In the 1970s an American company, BECHTEL Corporation, took up the challenge and, using the most sophisticated technology available, conquered the jungle and built the FREEPORT Indonesia mines!
I was still with BECHTEL Corporation on their Bougainville Copper Project when rumours reached us on our side of New Guinea of this gigantic project on the Indonesian part of the island. It was going to be even bigger and take even longer to build than the Bougainville Copper Project, and the only access would be by cablecar.
Should I have applied and gone? What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
