Feni Islands

The Feni Islands are an archipelago of two volcanic islands, east of New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago, belonging to Papua New Guinea, New Ireland Province. They are part of the Tabar - Lihir - Tanga - Feni island chain.

The largest island of the group is Ambitle (87 km ²). The second island, Babase (23 km ²), separated by only 100 m wide road from Ambitle salad. Babase is upstream of the small neighboring island balum.

The Feni Island are also called Anir Islands, on old maps the names of St. John, St. John, Wuneram, Wonneram or Bournandinseln be specified.

The archipelago was discovered in June 1616 by Dutch sailors Jacob Le Maire and Willem Cornelisz Schouten for Europe. From 1885 to 1899 included the Feni Islands to the so-called "German reserve" and 1899-1914 for the colony of German New Guinea, New Ireland -South County with headquarters in Namatanai. 1914, the islands were conquered by Australian troops, and managed after the First World War as a League of Nations mandate of Australia. Since 1975 they are part of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.

The islands are hilly, rugged and rocky and densely forested. Although the last major volcanic eruption 2,300 years ago took place, there is particular attention to Ambitle still strong volcanic activity with numerous geysers, boiling mud pots and located off the coast of hydrothermal vents.

On both islands live a total of about 1,500 to 2,000 people.

On Ambitle a gold deposit was discovered that the porphyry world-class deposit of Bougainville and the largest porphyry gold deposit in the world is geologically similar to Niolam ( Lihir Islands).