CSFB said stability in the area that collapsed was being queried as long as 12 months ago. A mine visit by analysts in October 2004 noted a site newsletter that “discussed ground movement in the area around the northern end of the Kapit stockpile and incinerator that was being monitored by the geotechnical team twice daily”, it said.

“The placement of a long term stockpile on ground that has proven unstable either demonstrates error in the original assessment which allowed this exposure to occur; a lack of understanding of the stability controls; or unacceptable design comprise,” the report by CSFB analysts Michael Slifirski and Julian McCormack said.

“The area appears to have been identified as unstable and at risk at least 12 months ago, yet human exposure to the area appears to have continued.

“In this context, one must question the safety of other areas until now assessed as geotechnically stable.

“This includes the mine and intended sea wall to enable recovery of deeper gold.”

MiningNews.net was unable to reach Lihir management on site, with telecommunication problems hampering efforts.

Lihir was forecast to produce around 700,000 ounces in 2005, the majority of which were to come in the second half of the year. The impact of the slope failure on the forecast has yet to be quantified.

Shares in the miner were off 9c at $1.735 in afternoon trade.