PNGBLOGS

by JAMES TEMO Anthony Smare Country Director of Barrick Gold in PNG has been a beneficiary and close family friend of Somare family for many years. Close friends and associates close to the two men confirm their very close relationship going back many years. It is no wonder Anthony Smare engaged Arthur Somare to start the negotiations with the Land Owners of Pogera when the lease expired last year. Somare was paid as a Barrick Lobbyist or the go between Barrick and the Government to ease tensions and allow for Barrick to keep the status-quo and run the mine without reviewing the licensing agreements.  This has has not gone down well with Landowners who wanted to know why Arthur Somare was involved in yet another screwed up negotiations, remember Arthur screwed up the LNG project nearly selling out PNG. Firstly, Arthur mortgaged the State’s existing 18% shares in Oil Search Limited (OSL) to borrow heavily from Dubai based Arab financiers to finance the State’s equity in PNG LNG. Arthur

by JAMES MARAPE MP, PRIME MINISTER To all PNG miners (those in both operations and explorations) we will not change goal posts in between. PNG is a robust democracy that honors all agreements to the text and spirit, congruent to our mining act. Major amendments to the resource law regimes we doing will be effected post 2025 and will not affect those agreements secured under present regimes. You can have that comfort. However Pogera is a special case and is an exception because Barrick’s lease expired on 18th August 2019. My letter to Barrick is on it’s way and will explain this and also allude to formal and legitimate processes of government including MAC’s deliberation that refused application for lease renewal. I have my country’s 8million shareholders including the people of Ipili, Pogera , Enga, environmental footprint areas plus present mine workers to look after. Now that your lease has expired, the legal process is there for Barrick to comply so you can maintain your oper