Papua New Guinea continuously having issue with Foreign Exchange currencies and it has affected businesses especially those importing products.
With this, Prime Minister James Marape says once the Porgera gold mine comes on it will help fix the country’s economy, especially the shortage of foreign exchange (forex).
“Our people need the mine to start immediately. Our investors need the mine to start immediately. The economy needs Porgera. I do apologise for the lengthy delay,” Prime Minister Marape said.
“If Porgera comes on next year, we will secure our economy next year, especially the foreign exchange issue. This time next year, Porgera will alleviate the forex issue.”
Prime Minister Marape said this while supporting a bill tabled in Parliament by Mining Minister Sir Ano Pala to allow the mine to start immediately and at the same time protect the rights of the landowners.
Sir Ano said that the Mining (New Porgera) (Amendment) Act 2023 recognised that it was in the national interest that mining operations at the Porgera re-started as soon as possible.
“The Amendment Act enables the landowners to start benefiting from the mine’s operations immediately.”
Adding to that Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas said he was in support of the bill “because rights of landowners are preserved, it won’t be an issue for us.”
“I have been governor for a longtime and haven’t realised the impact Porgera had on the nation.”
Sir Ano pointed out that the amended Act once passed would achieve one uniformity within the mining, oil and gas sector.
“Whereas, the Oil and Gas Act 1998, allows the licence holder to commence activities while continuing to negotiate compensation with landowners, or having compensation determined by the Warden; the Mining Act under Section 155 actually prevents the tenement holder from entering into an occupying the land until the tenement holder has agreed on compensation with the landowners, or the compensation is determined by the Warden,” Sir Ano said.
The New Porgera Limited (NPL) in a statement yesterday welcomes the passing of the Mining (New Porgera) (Amendment) Act 2023 by the National Parliament on 29 November 2023 which paves the way for the mine to reopen this year.
Since the grant of SML13 on 13 October 2023, representatives of NPL have spent the last six weeks at Porgera and Tari holding face-to-face meetings with over 1,000 landowners and their legally designated agents, explaining the company’s proposal for compensation agreements prior to reopening the mine.
Over 1,200 landowner agents, representing more than 85% of the agents, have signed “Consent Compensation Agreements” with NPL to allow the mine to reopen as soon as possible with the parties agreeing to engage in substantive negotiations on new compensation rates after mining resumes. Importantly, to ensure that landowners are not disadvantaged by the deferral in negotiations, NPL has agreed to make a backdated “true-up” payment to landowners for any increase in compensation rates agreed or determined after the mine reopens.
