PAPUA New Guinea has offered to the Solomon Island its experience in mining policy and resource governance to develop a modern mining regime that maximises benefits for its people.
Prime Minister James Marape, during talks with his counterpart Matthew Wale in Port Moresby on Friday, said PNG had learnt valuable lessons over decades of resource development – both successes and mistakes – and was ready to share those experiences with its Melanesian neighbour.
“As you develop your mining laws, it is important to get them right from the beginning,” he said.
“PNG is still refining its own resource laws, but we have accumulated decades of experience.
“We are prepared to send our resource lawyers and technical experts to work with your team so that together we can develop policies that deliver long-term benefits for our people.”
Marape also welcomed the invitation from Wale for PNG’s mining companies to participate in developing resource projects in the Solomon Islands.
“I have tasked Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited and Ok Tedi Mining Limited to examine opportunities in the Solomon Islands and engage with their counterparts on potential mining partnerships,” he said.
“PNG’s resource policy seeks to ensure the State receives at least 55 per cent of the total economic benefits generated from major mining projects through an appropriate combination of corporate tax, equity participation, royalties, levies and other fiscal arrangements.
“Investors must make a reasonable return because they bring capital, technology and expertise.
“At the same time, the country that owns the resources must also receive a fair and equitable share of the benefits.”
Marape said that the country’s resource reforms had been shaped by difficult historical lessons, particularly the Panguna mine in Bougainville.
“The Bougainville crisis remains a lasting reminder of what can happen when resource development is not perceived as fair by the people who own the land,” he said.
“Our biggest lesson is this: if you do not get the relationship with customary landowners right, the project will ultimately fail.”
