October 9, 2017
BY SEBASTIAN HAKALITS
http://postcourier.com.pg/...ndowners-abg-png-financiers-panguna-bid/
Landowners, the ABG, the PNG Government, investors and financiers must be transparent on their negotiations to reopen the Panguna Mine, and not rush it.
William Kareoton, of the lower tailings, said the ABG must let the landowner associations and people of Bougainville decided on who should operate the mine.
He said the tussle between the Portland House Group, RTG and BCL, must be clear as the Portland House Group is already paying wages (AU$608) to some ABG members and landowners
“Any developers, investors, financiers who are interested in reopening the mine must be willing to meet and compensate the legacy issues, and meet the K10 billion demand by the late Francis Ona, as proper consultation for Bougainville is vital and not only for the landowner associations and the ABG,” he said.
According to Bougainville News website, October 6, there is a struggle over who will run the mine between BCL, the previous operator now backed by the ABG, and PNG Government, and a consortium of Australian investors supported by the heads of landowners who own the mineral rights,” Mr Kareoton said.
“PNG has told airlines that Sydney businessman Ian de Renzie Duncan, who set up the consortium, is banned from entering the country until 2024, according to a Papua New Guinea government document reviewed by Reuter.
“The request for the ban was made by the Bougainville Government, three sources with knowledge of the document said.
“The consortium has also acknowledged for the first time that it is paying some landowners a monthly stipend, and has pulled in some big backers that have not previously been disclosed.
“They include Richard Hains, part of a billionaire Australian race-horse owning family which runs hedge fund Portland House Group.” Duncan, a former barrister with a background in mining law, heads an entity called Central Exploration that has a half share of the consortium.
“Duncan’s consortium has been paying money, described as a stipend, to some of the landowners, but denies this amount to bribery.
“We are really talking about people receiving a couple of thousand kina ($608) a month,” said Duncan, who added that the money helps the landowners to travel and find accommodation in towns where Panguna negotiations take place. “It’s not bribery, its business,” he said.
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