Tourism eyed as mine backup

LANDOWNERS of the Ok Tedi mine area in Western want to venture into tourism as a backup for when the mine closes.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Landowners’ Royalty Trust and Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) in Port Moresby on Friday for this community-based project.

“I need tourism development,” chief landowner and president of Star Mountains local-level government Borok Pitalok said.

“It is a fall-back for my people.

“More good things will happen because the mine will one day come to an end.”

Royalty Trust chief executive Aubrey DeSouza, when signing the agreement with Tourism Promotion Authority chief executive Jerry Agus, said there was huge potential for tourism in the Star Mountains. The agreement will look at developing bird watching as a first project.

“We have got other investments in commercial, residential property, hotels, stocks and shares but what we are really excited about is that this is a project which is community based,” DeSouza said.

“Royalty Trust has 10 mine villages around Ok Tedi and about 5000 beneficiaries.

“Every year we inform them about the various investments for after-mine life to sustain them for the rest of their lives.

“We expect the project to grow and give them sustainable employment and other opportunities with technical expertise of TPA.”
Agus said this was the first time for a landowner company to partner with a government agency to support local people in the community.

“Most of the time you do not see landowner companies, especially from mining and petroleum-producing areas trying to partner with sectors in tourism and agriculture,” he said.

“You do not have to have huge capital investments to go into tourism.

“It is something that we live with every day, just like agriculture.

“What we will do is to market and promote tourism products in Ok Tedi and Tabubil areas.”

Source: The National PNG

OK Tedi announces K100mil in dividends

Chairman Sir Moi Avei,

An interim dividend of K100 million was recently declared by the Ok Tedi Mining Ltd board and paid to shareholders on Friday, the company announced yesterday.

Chairman Sir Moi Avei, pictured, thanked the employees and contractors for their efforts, especially when recovering from the effects of the earthquake in February.

“While the performance of the business was adversely affected following the earthquake, production and profitability have progressively returned to more normal levels, allowing the company to make a K50 million contribution to the Earthquake Appeal in March 2018 and now fund an interim dividend,” he said

“The outlook for the second half of 2018 remains positive.

“The recent decline in copper price and ongoing cash requirement to complete the replacement and relocation of the in-pit crusher meant that the board continued to exercise prudence.”

Following the transfer of additional equity from the State to Western entities in April this year, K67 million of the
dividend was paid to the State.

The balance of K33 million was paid to the Fly River provincial government, Community Mine Continuation Agreement CMCA, villages and mine communities.

The share distribution of the 33 per cent equity will see:

• CMCA group owning 12 per cent;
• Mine area villages 9 per cent; and
• Fly River provincial government 12 per cent of which part of its interest will be shared with three districts (North Fly, Middle Fly and South Fly).