In its 2020 operational report, Harmony Gold said that in 2021, the target is to safely mine the present cutback to have a production between 172,300 and 177,700 ounces while at the same time, beginning the next planned pushback of the main Hidden Valley pit. The report said, “Our aim is to obtain a renewal of the mining lease to support a proposed mine l...

Foreign exchange inflows may be lower in 2021.This is according to the bank of South Pacific, that said that this is due to the delay in an agreement between Barrick Niugini and the government on the Porgera gold mine. Chief executive officer Robin Fleming said that there were several factors that would impact the availability of foreign exchange this yea...

After receiving the Sandaun government environment impact statement, Environment and Conservation Minister Were Mori has approved the Frieda River mining project to move forward - with safety and health protocols in place. This mining project has also the same characteristic and style to that of the Ok Tedi and the suggested Wafi-Golpu projects. “They ar...

The current political environment in Papua New Guinea is creating investment uncertainties.According to St Barbara Ltd, developer of the Simberi gold mine in New Ireland, proposed changes to the mining legislation would affect project economics in the future of the mine. General Manager of operations Jason Robinson said that the firm is working closely wi...

Kainantu Resources Limited (KRL) has started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. Mining Minister Johnson Tuke extended his congratulations, adding that KRL is an emerging gold exploration company, proactively working with the people from PNG. “KRL brings an experienced regional team to PNG at the junior exploration level, and their management...

Peter Aitsi has resigned from his post as director and chairman of Kumul Consolidated Holdings Limited (KCHL). In a letter addressed to Prime Minister James Marape, he said his resignation came after recent “changes to ministerial portfolios”, expressing his gratitude to the government for this privilege “to be chair of this prestigious and important orga...

Almost 85% of respondents claimed that COVID-19 has had negative impacts on their businesses, including revenue loss and damage to the local economy - with nearly a quarter temporarily closed and 43% somewhat operational. In addition, the top three challenges include the effect of closed international borders, poor cash flow, and not sure when the pandemi...

In sync with the goal of the government to limit rice imports, Agriculture and Livestock Minister John Simon said that it is perhaps best that rice importers invest in the local rice economy. “We’d like to see companies investing in the country,” he said. “On rice, what we are going to do is to see us growing the industry. We must not always continue to i...

Goodman Fielder (PNG)’s K10.2mil rice plant has opened in Port Moresby. According to general manager Manish Randev, the rice plant has a capacity of producing 360 tonnes of rice a day. “This plant can produce 15 tonnes an hour which means in a day it can produce up to 360 tonnes,” Randev said. “We are putting a lot of money in investment and Goodman Field...

The government should be a facilitator for investment in the nation, said the Papua New Guinea Manufacturers Council (PNGMC). According to PNGMC chief executive officer Chey Scovell, “Investment provides many jobs, skills training and of course you’ve heard about a few hundred jobs created here (Goodman Fielder). But they will be using predominantly the S...

Parliament recently passed its 2021 budget again, following the Supreme Court’s rule that the sitting previously passed was not proper. According to Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey who tabled the budget, working on the budget was a challenge.“Since 1975, there has never been a global crisis such as the one we are now facing,” he said. “The latest world economi...

Prime Minister James Marape said that in the next year, the government plans to focus on stabilising the economy.“We are using our own budget to ensure stimulus is maintained in our economy,” he said. “The construction activity is taking place across the country.”Marape added that he wasn’t the cause of lost jobs.“Far from the truth. Companies shut down a...

The National Development Bank (NDB) desires to buy Westpac Bank.According to chairman Michael Mell, this is part of its long-term goals of going commercial. He said in a press conference in Port Moresby that a monopoly has no room and wants Westpac Bank to consider this offer. “I have set up a committee from both NDB and People’s Micro Bank. We have been ...

PNG has good investment opportunities, but fewer as compared to a few years ago. This, according to Trukai CEO Alan Preston, who said that it takes extra precaution to invest now. He added that this pandemic has brought many challenges to businesses and customers alike, and still, these people are coping better than most around the world. He said that ove...

In creating a steady stream of income, the people of Bana in Bougainville launched the Bana special economic zone (BSEZ), which is a project intended to form development by tapping into agriculture, tourism and the fisheries industry. This project also creates opportunities for Bougainville by attracting investments to the economic zone. The future of thi...

Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL) hopes to work with the developer of the Papua LNG Project and its partners.According to Managing director Wapu Sonk, KPHL hoped to work with Total and the Papua LNG joint venture partners to start the front-end engineering design work and begin the liquefied natural gas (LNG) financing and marketing work.It can be recal...

Swire Shipping recently enhanced both its North Asia Express (NAX) and Southeast Asia (SEA) servicesSwire Shipping operates 13 liner services connecting over 400 ports via an extensive network of services in the Asia-Pacific and globally. Dedicated to facilitating and growing trade in regions where it operates, the company operates a fleet of owned and ch...

Researchers from Australia and the US have come to the conclusion that treating mine tailing with lime aided in stabilising arsenic in soil and sediments around the mine - which results in preventing toxic chemicals from remaining dissolved in water and impacting people and the environment. This comes after researchers have conducted a study at the Porger...

Following payment of an interim dividend of PGK150 million last September, Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) has said that the OTML Board has a final dividend of PGK400 million for 2020.According to Chairman Sir Moi Avei, in spite of the health crisis, “OTML has had a strong and profitable year and this has enabled the Company to complete the PGK800 million self-...

The Papua New Guinea National Stock Exchange (PNGX) has encouraged foreign businesses in the country to register with the national stock exchange. According to chairman David Lawrence, this will give Papua New Guineans more opportunities to have an ownership interest in the wealth of the country. “Publicly listed companies are significantly under-represen...

Replace foreign fabricated steel in the market.This was a statement given by Steel Industries chairman Frank McQuoid who witnessed a significant decline in the steel fabrication market. He added that the way to move forward was to replace foreign fabricated steel. In the past two decades, PNG fabricators lost up to 80 per cent of the structural steel fabr...

Total senior management team will be in the country this week to talk about the next steps in the Papua LNG Project.According to Petroleum Minister Kerenga Kua, the meeting between the government and the developer of this project had been planned last week but there were delays on clearances and protocols. They are to arrive this week.The announcements fo...

Through a share placement, Gold developer Geopacific Resources has raised A$140 million to invest for the development of the Woodlark gold project in Papua New Guinea. The placement will be finished in two tranches. The first tranche consists of 43.7-million shares with a cost of 42c each for an initial A$18.4-million under the existing placement company ...

Pioneering research being undertaken in Papua New Guinea by IFC and the Business Coalition For Women will for the first time measure the costs, and crucially, also the benefits to businesses of workplace responses to gender-based violence. The groundbreaking project, launched this month, aims to build evidence demonstrating the benefits to business of p...