PNGBLOGS

ROWAN CALLICK AUSTRALIAN investment in Papua New Guinea's resurgent resources sector is booming, but the risks have been underlined by dramatic events. There was a violent raid on a construction camp at Kikori for the $16.5 billion ExxonMobil-Oil Search-Santos liquefied natural gas project. Kikori is in Gulf province northwest of Port Moresby. As well, the developers have won the latest round of a colossal court battle over the disposal of tailings from the $1.8bn Ramu Nickel mine, under construction by Chinese state-owned giant Metallurgical Construction Corporation, with Brisbane-based Highlands Gold a minority stakeholder. The common theme in both cases is the role of frustrated, opportunistic or worried landowners. The attack at Kikori came at night, when no one was working at the site, so there were no injuries, but a Caterpillar 740 dumptruck -- which routinely costs $250,000 secondhand -- and another truck were destroyed by fire, and other equipment was damaged severely, som

ROWAN CALLICK AUSTRALIAN investment in Papua New Guinea's resurgent resources sector is booming, but the risks have been underlined by dramatic events. There was a violent raid on a construction camp at Kikori for the $16.5 billion ExxonMobil-Oil Search-Santos liquefied natural gas project. Kikori is in Gulf province northwest of Port Moresby. As well, the developers have won the latest round of a colossal court battle over the disposal of tailings from the $1.8bn Ramu Nickel mine, under construction by Chinese state-owned giant Metallurgical Construction Corporation, with Brisbane-based Highlands Gold a minority stakeholder. The common theme in both cases is the role of frustrated, opportunistic or worried landowners. The attack at Kikori came at night, when no one was working at the site, so there were no injuries, but a Caterpillar 740 dumptruck -- which routinely costs $250,000 secondhand -- and another truck were destroyed by fire, and other equipment was damaged severe