A billboard advertising Justin Parker's company, Golden Valley (Australian Financial Review)

ANGUS GRIGG
| National Affairs Correspondent | The Australian Financial Review

SYDNEY - The lockdown has been good to gold. Since early February it has rallied more than 10% as investors predictably sought shelter in the precious metal during these uncertain economic times.

But some of that sheen has come off this rally in recent days after The Australian Financial Review revealed industry standards around ethical sourcing, or ‘conflict gold’, were hollow at best.

Alluvial gold miners,  Dantanai,  Kieta District. A Human Rights Watch investigation found illegal artisanal gold miners around Porgera routinely use mercury,  a poison which has had significant health impacts on both miners and their families

SAM JAY KAUPA

The unlawful extraction and export of gold is a scandal in both Papua New Guinea and Australia. Among the major beneficiaries, it seems from a recent investigation by the Australian Financial Review, even the respectable institution, the Perth Mint. Sam Jay Kaupa is an experienced mining engineer and manager with extensive domestic and international experience - KJ

PORT MORESBY - There is a question people need to ask. Why can’t the central bank of Papua New Guinea buy gold to curb smuggling and build reserves to stabilise the plummeting kina?

The mining sector accounts for about 9% of GDP and the overall resources sector contributes about 26% of GDP. This will continue to rise with the current demand for cobalt, a by-product of the precipitate from Ramu Nickel.

DURRANT PATE
| Jamaica Observer

KINGSTON, JAMAICA - Speculation that mobile phone operator Digicel is considering selling the Papua New Guinea business considered the jewel in the financially troubled telecoms empire has sparked concern within PNG over Beijing's growing influence.

The Digicel conglomerate surprised many of its users in PNG by filing bankruptcy proceedings in May in Bermuda and the United States, where it owes billions of dollars to bond holders who invested in the company some years ago.

SCOTT WAIDE
| My Land, My Country

LAE - We have to get this right if we are to thrive in this country.

The quality of transport infrastructure – especially roads and bridges – determines the price of food.

Apart from consumption, this single factor influences the rate of supply and demand to a large extent.

EMMANUEL PENI
| Coordinator, Project Sepik

SEPIK RIVER – An historic customary declaration has been issued to the Papua New Guinea government by the spiritual guardians of the Sepik River, the customary clan leaders.

The Supreme Sukundimi Declaration calls for a complete ban on the proposed Frieda River mine, which would be the largest mine in PNG history.

LOGEA NAU
| PNG National Research Institute | Edited

PORT MORESBY - A pandemic has broad implications on the world economy and has differing impacts on the economies of countries around the world.

Evidence suggests that a pandemic or an epidemic may impact trade and affect international supply chains.

Chairman of the Angore landowners Hari John Akipe (centre) with the team at Ambua Lodge before heading to Undupi village for the signing ceremony. The Tari valley is in the background

ALEXANDER NARA

PORT MORESBY - It was a little past four o’clock that Sunday afternoon when we arrived at Ambua Lodge, nestled amongst the Doma Peaks near Tari town in Hela Province.

The light drizzle that seemed to have followed us from Mt Hagen had ceased and the gravel car park was wet and soft. Around it the trees were wreathed with thick leaves and green moss.

Road block at West Pomio in New Britain mounted by villagers opposing logging by Rimbunan Hijau

JOHN C CANNON
| Mongabay | Extract

Link here to the complete article by John Cannon

POMIO - Change. That's what Monica Yongol has seen in her 54 years.

In that time, the loggers and then the oil palm companies have moved into the remote corner of Papua New Guinea where she raised her family, altering the contours of the society she knew.

Porgera gold and silver mine (Barrick)

SIMON DAVIDSON

KOKOPO – The Porgera mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea located at the head of the Porgera Valley at an altitude of about 2,500 meters. The region is noted for its high rainfall, landslides and frequent earthquakes.

The mine is operated by the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) and began production in 1990. It is now owned by Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada and the Zijin Mining Group of China with local landowners having a small stake.

James Marape - over the last 12 months Papua New Guineans have witnessed the depth of his vision

RAMOI BIAK

WEWAK - Twelve months ago who would have predicted  the rise of a much under-rated James Marape as the eighth prime minister of Papua New Guinea putting an end to eight tumultuous years by Peter O’Neill and his Peoples National Congress Party.

Marape continues to intrigue and surprise us with the array of tools he is deploying from the Pandora’s box of politics.

Hela Governor Philip Undialu - "The international community will soon know who is telling the truth"

HON PHILIP AJA UNDIALU MP
| Governor of Hela Province | Edited

TARI – There was no need for the Papua New Guinea government to have any advance negotiations with Barrick before the decision not to renew the Porgera Joint Venture lease.

Any negotiation held prior to the decision would have seen as preemptive of the decision and would have been in breach of the Mining Act, which would have attracted legal implications.

AMY TORI
| Prague Post | Edited extract

PRAGUE –Founded by Dan Edmiston in August 2017, the Native Vanilla company brings top-quality vanilla products to market that are organically farmed and sustainably sourced from rural growers in Papua New Guinea.

Edmiston found himself back in PNG after a long absence from his childhood home when he identified a need to help micro-farmers get a fair price for their vanilla beans as well as the need to produce a high-quality dry-cured vanilla bean for global markets.

Beautiful Ambunti right on the Sepik River

ERIC SCHERING

KALAMAZOO, USA – Along with my wife Penny, I have served with Pacific Island Ministries in East Sepik Province between 1980 and 1985 and from 2005 until the present.

Pacific Island Ministries was founded in Ambunti, the largest town on the Sepik River, in 1977.

From the get–go a priority was to listen to the locals about what kind of help they wanted.

CHRIS OVERLAND

ADELAIDE - Neo-liberal capitalism has taken over our lives by stealth.

I date its rise from the realisation that ordinary citizens could be offered easy access to credit, whereby the perceived actuarial risk involved was largely mitigated by the sheer numbers of people who used credit cards and similar facilities.

Waile Creek, Porgera

CHRIS OVERLAND

ADELAIDE - Eric Schering has beautifully articulated the classic neo-liberal arguments about the defence of property rights and the necessity of the rule of law.

There is much of merit in these arguments but,  in this case, there are major problems as well.

The Barrick-Zijin joint venture gold and silver mine situated west of Porgera

ERIC SCHERING

KALAMAZOO, USA – In late April, on the advice of Papua New Guinea’s national executive council, prime minister James Marape declined the request of the Porgera Joint Venture to extend its mining lease by 20 years.

The government made it clear to the Barrick-Zijin syndicate that the PNG government would take control of the mine and it was time for the partners to come up with an exit plan.

PNG's rising debt (ANZ)

DAVID JAMES
| Business Advantage PNG | Edited extracts

PORT MORESBY - Economists are forecasting a recession in Papua New Guinea in 2020 as the country struggles to deal with the global crisis caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has also downgraded the country’s debt.

Penny and  Eric Schering and friends. The Scherings split their time working with Pacific Island Ministries in PNG and the USA

ERIC SCHERING

KALAMAZOO, USA - Last week was a biggie for the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province, one of the largest gold mines in the world.

A stir has been brewing about whether prime minister James Marape is justified in refusing PJV’s request for a 20 year lease extension.

DEK JOE SUM, MAHOLOPA LAVEIL
& STEPHEN HOWES
| DevPolicy Blog

CANBERRA - The key problem facing Papua New Guinea in formulating a response to Covid-19 has been well explained by the country’s Treasurer.

PNG’s government went into 2020 planning the biggest deficit it has ever run, some K4.6 billion in net borrowing. Now, with Covid-19, it faces a revenue hole estimated at K2 billion.

Porgera gold and silver mine

PAUL BARKER
| Business Advantage PNG

PORT MORESBY - There will be repercussions from the Papua New Guinea government’s decision not to renew the special mining lease on the Porgera gold mine.

The Porgera valley is a very complex place, with communities long vying for control. Anyone treading in it should do so lightly, with thorough consultation and knowledge of that situation and avoiding disruption.

DEK JOE SUM, MAHOLOPA LAVEIL
& STEPHEN HOWES
| DevPolicy Blog

CANBERRA - The Covid-19 pandemic could not have arrived at a worse time for Papua New Guinea.

In addition to its declining health indicators, years of mismanagement have significantly weakened the country’s economic fundamentals, depriving its government of the ammunition needed to combat a looming economic downturn.

How Rio Tinto left the once pristine Jaba River - now a toxic 40 km drain to the coast

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA - The Human Rights Law Centre in Melbourne has said Rio Tinto Ltd should fund an investigation of health and safety issues and clean up the environmental mess from the Panguna copper and gold mine in the 20 years from 1970 to 1990.

It says the review would be a starting point for compensation talks and negotiations about rehabilitating the old minesite at Panguna and nearby waterways including the ruined Jaba River.

Street market - a large part of Papua New Guinea's daily trade and commerce relies on the informal economy

BUSA JEREMIAH WENOGO

PORT MORESBY - As the spread of coronavirus claims thousands of lives throughout the world it has also brought economic hardship to many countries.

Businesses and governments face a bleak future with economic activities shutting down and the movement of people becoming more restrictive.

In Papua New Guinea the government recently introduced a state of emergency after a foreign mine worker travelling to PNG’s second biggest city Lae tested positive for the virus.

The spread of coronoavirus seems to have spared PNG so far, but nevertheless the economy will suffer a big hit

SCOTT WAIDE
| EMTV | Extracts

LAE - Papua New Guinea may need to review its economic outlook for the medium term as global economies contend with the wide-ranging impacts of coronavirus.

While Papua New Guineans have been debating the preparedness of the health system, and bracing for a possible outbreak, the economic burden brought on by the global pandemic could further cripple efforts to contain the spread of the disease.

IAN LING-STUCKEY | Edited

PORT MORESBY - When Peter O’Neill came to power in 2012, Papua New Guinea’s debt was K8.5 billion. When he left in 2019, the figure was K37.6 billion.

So the debt was 4.4 times larger after only seven years. K29.1 billion larger. Not double, not triple, not even quadruple – an extraordinary 4.43 times larger.

PRIYANKA CHOUDHARY
| Rystad Energy | Edited

OSLO, NORWAY - The decision by the government of Papua New Guinea to halt talks with ExxonMobil about the state’s share of revenues from the planned P’nyang gas field development is set to delay two key liquefied natural gas projects that would double the country’s gas output.

The two projects, Total’s $13-14 billion Papua LNG investment and ExxonMobil’s subsequent PNG LNG Expansion plan, are located close to each other and could save the firms up to $3 billion in shared infrastructure synergies through a combined development.

IAN LING-STUCKEY

PORT MORESBY – I commend Barrick Niugini Limited for contributing K59.3 million to the national government as a forward payment of its taxes.

This is a second example of a major business being willing to pay its taxes early and follows on the example of British American Tobacco in bringing forward K250 million in excise collections.

Ian Ling-Stuckey (centre right) and staff celebrate six months of hard work rescuing the PNG economy, including the development of the forward pay tax concept

MARTYN NAMORONG

PORT MORESBY - Friday marked six months since Ian Ling-Stuckey came into office as Papua New Guinea’s Treasurer.

Ling-Stuckey has delivered an economic rescue plan for PNG which will be monitored by an independent umpire, the International Monetary Fund.

IMF and its staff will be making sure the PNG government keeps its promises to rescue Papua New Guineans from O'Neill's deep economic hole.

WILL OWEN
| LNG Industry

FARNHAM, UK - Reuters is reporting that Oil Search Ltd is working to revive talks between Exxon Mobil Corp and the Papua New Guinea government regarding a plan to double the country’s natural gas exports.

Oil Search’s new CEO, Keiran Wulff, has told Reuters that he hopes that negotiations could resume within weeks.

NEWS DESK
| PNG Advantage | Edited extracts

PORT MORESBY - Despite significant volatility, Papua New Guinea’s largest businesses remain optimistic about the year ahead.

That’s according to the results of the latest PNG 100 CEO Survey, released jointly by Business Advantage International and Westpac PNG, which feature for the first time the country’s inaugural Business Expectations Index.

Ian Ling-Stuckey - "O’Neill dragged us into a debt trap. His economic mismanagement increased PNG’s debt by 435%"

IAN LING-STUCKEY
Papua New Guinea Treasurer | Edited extracts

PORT MORESBY - Peter O’Neill does shame to his role as former prime minister by continuing to lie to the country about his economic legacy.

During the years of his autocratic rule, he produced fake budgets, fake national accounts and fake growth figures.

I had hoped that, when he was caught out for his fraudulent behaviour and deceptions through the due diligence exercise and confirmed by the independent International Monetary Fund, at least he might stop lying to the people of this nation.

Exxon’s conduct has been criticised by the PNG government as being “exploitative”

BAL KAMA
| The Interpreter | Lowy Institute

CANBERRA - The recent announcement of the Papua New Guinea government to cease all negotiations with one of the United States’ largest oil and gas companies, Exxon Mobil, over the P’nyang LNG project, a new gas field in PNG, has broader implications for the US and PNG.

At first glance, the decision against Exxon for allegedly acting in bad faith is part of a wider crackdown by the government of prime minister James Marape to ensure greater fairness in the resource sector.

Traditional green axes by Simeon Nikints (Peter Kinjap)

PETER S KINJAP

PORT MORESBY – For thousands of years before the first Australian patrol reached Mt Hagen in 1933, stones axes (known as ‘green axes’) were used daily in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, and were widely traded often in the context of ceremonial exchanges.

In more recent times, a group of ‘factories’ located in the Waghi and Jimi Valleys accounted for the bulk of production of green axes.

Eddie Tanago - "A public register of beneficial ownerships would make it much harder for corrupt politicians and bureaucrats to hide their crimes"

EDDIE TANAGO
| Act Now!

PORT MORESBY - The latest corruption scandal involving a government minister and a foreign oil company emphasises once again the need for the government to legislate on hidden or ‘beneficial’ company ownerships.

Allowing people to register a company without revealing who are the real owners or beneficiaries creates a massive information vacuum that enables corruption and tax evasion to happen right under our noses.

Eddie Tanago -  Even under Marape, the  government is still disenfranchising customary landowners and diluting rural resilience

EDDIE TANAGO
| Act Now!

PORT MORESBY - The Land Minister’s announcement of a new pilot project to further disenfranchise customary landowners is part of a misguided promotion of private sector greed over people’s need for income generation.

The Papua New Guinea government should be focused on empowering rural people to build resilient communities on their own land rather than serving the greed of foreign owned banks and big corporations.

RAYMOND SIGIMET

DAGUA - Papua New Guinea's current population growth rate is above 2%, the rate having gradually slowed from 3.1% since 2000. This trend is expected to continue over the next few years.

PNG's National Statistics Office reported after the 2011 census that the population had reached more than seven million.

Misima gold mine

TIM TREADGOLD
| Forbes | Extracts

PERTH - Investors with a taste for gold, and who hasn’t in the current climate, can thank one of the world’s great financial institutions, the Bank of England, for creating an opportunity to buy a slice of the proposed redevelopment of a once fabulous goldmine.

It was back in 1999 when Britain’s central bank made one of the worst-ever business decisions. It starting selling its gold reserves, eventually parting with 395 tons of gold over a three-year period at an average price of $252 an ounce — 460% less than today’s gold price of $1,554/oz.

Chey Scovell - "A number of manufacturers have had to put their expansion plans on hold"

CHEY SCOVELL
| Business Advantage PNG

PORT MORESBY - It is shaping up to be a difficult and frustrating year. Manufacturers, like anyone else, require people to be spending money to buy our goods and there is just not much money going around.

If you go to the supermarkets there is nobody in line and everyone has a small basket because they can’t afford to fill up a trolley. In the rental market there is a 40 to 50 per cent vacancy rate.

P'nyang gas field - Is PNG squeezing energy companies too hard when it should be fixing a leaking pipe?

IAN RITCHIE

PORT MORESBY - "A fair deal is not merely squeezing a large slice of ice cream out of our development partners and then losing most of it through a horribly broken and hopelessly leaking pipe," wrote David Kitchnoge in PNG Attitude yesterday.

A clear and pragmatic observation.

"Our criticism of Exxon Mobil and other development partners in the resources sector is as much a criticism of ourselves"

DAVID KITCHNOGE

PORT MORESBY - The politics of bigman, the economy of wastage and a public service that has become 'private service for a tip' all combined to deliver prime minister James Marape's ground breaking announcement last Sunday rejecting the P'nyang gas deal.

Mr Marape’s speech rejecting the P'nyang gas deal had been written over the years. It was a speech really aimed at an audience close to home. And if we didn't get it, we have a problem. The irony is that I'm not even sure the PM himself gets it.

James Marape -“To date my families, tribes, provinces and country are yet to fully see those promised windfalls"

JAMES THORNHILL
| Bloomberg | Extracts

NEW YORK - Exxon Mobil Corp’s partner on a Papua New Guinea gas project that’s threatened by failed talks with the government has hit back at PNG’s position, saying its terms were uneconomical.

Oil Search, in its first comment since the talks broke down on Friday, said that the government’s demands meant the project would not gain a sufficient return on investment.

James Marape calls off LNG negotiations. Big mining exploiters cry, beat breasts and stamp on floor

SONALI PAUL
| Reuters | Extract

MELBOURNE - Plans to double gas exports from Papua New Guinea within the next four years are in doubt after the government walked away from talks with Exxon Mobil Corp on a key gas project needed for the $13 billion expansion.

PNG prime minister James Marape has called off negotiations with Exxon on the P’nyang field, blaming the energy giant for failing to budge on a proposed deal that was “out of the money”.

David Kitchnoge - explains the loan should never have been

DAVID KITCHNOGE

PORT MORESBY - As the infamous UBS loan inquiry commences here in the national capital, let's take a quick look at how we got here.

The Papua New Guinea government had a 17.6% interest in Oil Search when Oil Search merged with Orogen Minerals in 2002.

When the PNG LNG project crystallised in 2009, and the final investment decision had to be made, the government's legislated funding obligation kicked in.

DAVID KITCHNOGE

PORT MORESBY – I’ve been reading about guys in the forestry business and thought I might share some of my own experiences.

Cloudy Bay Timbers, owned and operated by the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program before the expropriation of Ok Tedi Mine, was a perennial loss-maker although it was operated with all the right intentions and using 'industry best practice'.

The carcasses of massive ore trucks still lined up in the derelict Panguna mine, closed more than 30 years ago after guerilla warfare erupted

KATE LYONS
| Guardian Australia | Extract

SYDNEY - The president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has accused an Australian-linked mining company of lying to the Australian Securities Exchange over its plans to reopen one of the world’s largest copper mines.

In a scathing statement, ABG president John Momis accused the Australian-linked RTG Mining of “lies and deceptions” and said his government “will not rest until all RTG and their executives are banned for life from Bougainville and Papua New Guinea”.

Sam Koim - former corruption buster, now the new Commissioner-General of PNG's Internal Revenue Commission

SAM KOIM
| New Head of the Internal Revenue Commission | Edited extract

PORT MORESBY - My vision for the Internal Revenue Commission [IRC] is: “building the foundations of a robust, modern and efficient tax administration”.

Albert Einstein once said “intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them”. It is logical, not necessarily genius, to find lasting preventative measures instead of costly and repetitive firefighting solutions.

JEFF LEWIS & MELANIE BURTON
| Reuters | Extract

MELBOURNE - Barrick Gold is set to elevate its troubled Papua New Guinea mine to its top-tier assets, despite landowner and government demands to cede a larger stake and deteriorating security at the joint venture with China's Zijin Mining.

With a 20-year lease renewal application in the balance, Barrick has faced backlash from PNG landowners and residents.

GRANT WALTON & SINCLAIR DINNEN
| Devpolicy Blog

CANBERRA - As anyone who has visited Papua New Guinea in the past 20 years can attest, the private security industry is booming.

Office buildings are often only accessible by passing by rolls of sharp barbed wire, pointed fences and uniformed guards with large caps.

James Marape and Australian high commissioner Bruce Davis - PNG's problems are bound to be Australia's problems too

JONATHAN BARRETT & CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD
| Reuters

SYDNEY & WELLINGTON - Papua New Guinea’s annual debt repayments to China are forecast to increase 25% by 2023, new budget figures show, at the same time as the Pacific nation falls to its largest ever deficit.

The resource-rich country, which is at the centre of a diplomatic tussle between China and the United States, has blamed extravagant spending by the previous administration for its souring finances, which will require the government to borrow even more to pay the bills.

5G technology is another arena of big power rivalry, with PNG caught between US and Chinese interests

GABRIEL RAMOI

WEWAK - Big data mining and the new science of singularity and its application in nanotechnology, nanobiology, machine learning and manufacturing have crept up on us in Papua New Guinea.

The announcement by the PNG government’s telco provider, Kumul Telikom, that it had reached an agreement with Huawei of China to roll out 5G starting in urban centres in 2020 threw our small science and engineering community into disarray.