PNGBLOGS

BLOOMBERG  Harmony Gold Mining Co.’s Papua New Guinea mine is shaping up to be the world’s third-richest gold and copper deposit, raising speculation its partner in the venture, Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) , may make a takeover bid. “I understand they’ve tried to buy it off Harmony and Harmony is obviously not selling it,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.8 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd., including shares in Melbourne-based Newcrest. “One option for them is to buy Harmony out completely and then spin out all of the other assets.” The partners are set to give an update as early as July on the potential size of the Wafi-Golpu deposit, which they’ve compared with Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.’s Grasberg mine, site of the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve. Harmony shares rose to the highest in more than two years in April as optimism for the project triggered takeover speculation. “Every major copper compa

BLOOMBERG  Harmony Gold Mining Co.’s Papua New Guinea mine is shaping up to be the world’s third-richest gold and copper deposit, raising speculation its partner in the venture, Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM) , may make a takeover bid. “I understand they’ve tried to buy it off Harmony and Harmony is obviously not selling it,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.8 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd., including shares in Melbourne-based Newcrest. “One option for them is to buy Harmony out completely and then spin out all of the other assets.” The partners are set to give an update as early as July on the potential size of the Wafi-Golpu deposit, which they’ve compared with Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.’s Grasberg mine, site of the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve. Harmony shares rose to the highest in more than two years in April as optimism for the project triggered takeover speculation. “Every major copper com

REWARD FOR INFORMATION Please circulate widely through your network and contacts The NASFUND Board is aware of various articles posted on the blog site, PNG BLOGS and now being circulated via e mail which are factually incorrect, malicious in nature and defamatory. The articles are not only a serious attack on the integrity of the NASFUND Board and management it is a mischievous attempt to create confusion and instability amongst the contributors of NASFUND. The author of these articles has used the cloak of anonymity aided by the named website in perpetrating this cowardly and criminal smear campaign. An investigation to establish the identities of the persons involved is ongoing and a reward of K50,000.00 is now offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of both the author of the articles and the persons responsible for publishing it on this blog or any general media. All information received shall be treated confidentially and should be forwarded

REWARD FOR INFORMATION Please circulate widely through your network and contacts The NASFUND Board is aware of various articles posted on the blog site, PNG BLOGS and now being circulated via e mail which are factually incorrect, malicious in nature and defamatory. The articles are not only a serious attack on the integrity of the NASFUND Board and management it is a mischievous attempt to create confusion and instability amongst the contributors of NASFUND. The author of these articles has used the cloak of anonymity aided by the named website in perpetrating this cowardly and criminal smear campaign. An investigation to establish the identities of the persons involved is ongoing and a reward of K50,000.00 is now offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of both the author of the articles and the persons responsible for publishing it on this blog or any general media. All information received shall be treated confidentially and should be forwa

FIS If the fishing authorities of Papua New Guinea achieve their objective of transforming the island nation into the new global tuna leader in 2013, the 67 canneries in Galicia and their 12,000 employees could be greatly affected. PNG tuna industry expects to produce about 1,330 tonnes of tuna per day over the next two years. Today, this country can sell tuna and its subproducts in the European Union (EU) without tariffs and without meeting certain origin rules, the newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported. Galicia produces 80 per cent of canned tuna from Spain and nearly 70 per cent from the European market. According to the director of the National Fisheries Management Authority of Papua , Sylvester Pokajam, several international companies are building four macroplants in the country. The idea is that together, these plants reach a daily production of 1,330 tonnes of tuna, with 257 working days per year and nearly 20,000 jobs. The manager said that the three tuna processing

FIS If the fishing authorities of Papua New Guinea achieve their objective of transforming the island nation into the new global tuna leader in 2013, the 67 canneries in Galicia and their 12,000 employees could be greatly affected. PNG tuna industry expects to produce about 1,330 tonnes of tuna per day over the next two years. Today, this country can sell tuna and its subproducts in the European Union (EU) without tariffs and without meeting certain origin rules, the newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported. Galicia produces 80 per cent of canned tuna from Spain and nearly 70 per cent from the European market. According to the director of the National Fisheries Management Authority of Papua , Sylvester Pokajam, several international companies are building four macroplants in the country. The idea is that together, these plants reach a daily production of 1,330 tonnes of tuna, with 257 working days per year and nearly 20,000 jobs. The manager said that the three tuna proces

PETER KORUGL When Papua New Guineans were told that the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare went to Singapore for his routine medical check up, no one was alarmed. Sir Michael had done that many times before and had always come back home. No one had expected any worse. Before Sir Michael left Papua New Guinea, he did something that he had never done before for his medical appointments. That is to appoint his Deputy Prime Minister Sam Abal to act in his place while he was away. That decision should have sent the signal that Sir Michael was expecting some bad news. It is apparent that everyone in the Government, his personal staff and his family, did not anticipate that the visit to his doctor would end up the way it did and that Sir Michael would be hospitalised for weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. A few weeks later, at a function to welcome one of Air Niugini’s latest acquisitions, Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal dropped the bombshell. He told a stunned audience that Sir Michael was goin

PETER KORUGL When Papua New Guineans were told that the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare went to Singapore for his routine medical check up, no one was alarmed. Sir Michael had done that many times before and had always come back home. No one had expected any worse. Before Sir Michael left Papua New Guinea, he did something that he had never done before for his medical appointments. That is to appoint his Deputy Prime Minister Sam Abal to act in his place while he was away. That decision should have sent the signal that Sir Michael was expecting some bad news. It is apparent that everyone in the Government, his personal staff and his family, did not anticipate that the visit to his doctor would end up the way it did and that Sir Michael would be hospitalised for weeks in the Intensive Care Unit. A few weeks later, at a function to welcome one of Air Niugini’s latest acquisitions, Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal dropped the bombshell. He told a stunned audience that Sir Michael was g

PNGEXPOSED What was it that caused the acrimonious and rather public falling out between National Planning Secretary, Joseph Lelang, and his political masters? Lelang has admitted paying out millions on behalf of his political masters,  As Lelang has himself admitted [1], he has been involved in unlawfully dishing out hundreds of millions of kina from the national development budget on the orders of a small cabal of ministers at the very heart of government, including Arthur Somare, Patrick Pruaitch, Paul Tiensten, Peter O’Neill and, it is alleged, the Prime Minister himself, Michael Somare.   In February this year, Lelang was suspended from office, according to the Post Courier [2], for releasing K112 million for various projects under political directions from O’Neill, Tiensten and Pruaitch. But surely this cannot have been the real reason for his suspension? After all, Lelang, as he graphically illustrated himself in a memo to his Minister, Tiensten, dated December 6, 2010, [1