Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

PNG mining sector not happy with some planned government reforms

Posted at 03:24 on 10 December, 2012 UTC

Papua New Guinea’s Chamber of Mines and Petroleum says it disagrees with the government over some reforms it’s floating for the industry.

At last week’s PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill described reforms to halve the size of exploration leases and limit exploration licences for individual entities to 10.

The chamber’s executive director, Greg Anderson, says these ideas need further discussion.

“The current size and the current system has worked very well because it gives an opportunity for a company to do a first pass over a large area of land. But you have to get rid of fifty percent in two years. So that’s a formula that, in our view, works quite well because you can start with a large area but there’s definite incentive to get on with the job.”

However Greg Anderson says the chamber has been reassured that overall, the government policy remains helpful for investment in the mining and energy sectors.