A state of emergency declared in Porgera over illegal mining, O’Neill promises to cancel illegal forestry leases and second LNG train about to begin production. Your weekly digest of the latest business news.

The government has declared a state of emergency in Porgera, Enga Province, after an increase in illegal mining activities within the mine lease area and other law and order issues. A three-month operation is underway, although the Post Courier reports a similar attempt to stop illegal mining in 2009 failed when illegal miners returned at the end of the operation.

* * *

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says controversial land leases abused by the timber industry will be cancelled. O’Neill said all Special Agricultural and Business Leases, or SABLs, are under review and that those abused for forestry will be revoked.

* * *

Logging in PNG. Credit: ABC

Australia’s big four banks have agreed to work with Oxfam to look into issues raised in the development organisation’s new report on the involvement of financial institutions in dubious land dealing in PNG and Cambodia. An Oxfam report says Westpac and the ANZ had relationships with companies adversely named by a recent Commission of Inquiry for being involved in land deals that failed to obtain landowner consent.

* * *

ExxonMobil has announced the $19 billion PNG LNG project has started production and work on the second train is progressing with LNG production from this unit is expected to start in the next several weeks. The project is expected to produce more than 9 trillion cubic feet of gas over an estimated 30 years of operations.

* * *

West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel.

West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel says an investment of K70 million to seal roads leading to the palm oil projects could return up to K200 million in extra tax revenue.  He also says he’s seen no benefit to the province from logging even though he’s been told WNB is the leading logging province.

* * *

Gold miner Newcrest Mining is cutting hundreds of jobs in at its Lihir mine site. Outgoing CEO Greg Robinson says the company has cut 208 jobs between January and March and a further 32 vacancies will not be filled.

* * *

PNG’s Mineral Resources Authority is making K135,000 available to women’s associations in eight mining areas to establish income-earning projects which include agriculture, poultry, pot plants, and child care.

* * *

PNGCCIL’s Dr. Eremas Tade (3rd from right), and Ramu NiCo’s Wang Baowen (left), at the launch of the cocoa seedlings in Basamuk.

Basamuk villagers in the Rai Coast District of Madang Province, are the first in the country to receive a total of 10,000 seedlings of cocoa pod borer (CPB) tolerant hybrid. It is the result of a partnership between Ramu NiCo Mine and PNG Cocoa Coconut Institute Ltd.

* * *

Shares in the soon-to-be partially privatised Air Niugini will be available to the general public, according to Independent Public Business Corporation managing director Wasantha Kumarasiri. The former General Manager of Air Niugini says the IPBC and Air Niugini are preparing for an independent valuation of the company and a suitable operating model.

* * *

Bmobile will open new outlets outside National Capital District to give customers a choice of its services and products. CEO Sundar Ramamurthy says bmobile will venture into Mt Hagen, Lae and Goroka because of demand from its users.

* * *

Analysts at Macquarie Private Wealth (MPW) and Deutsche Bank are confident that Oil Search share prices will rise despite the dispute with InterOil over the Antelope-Elk LNG project. MPW expects Oil Search shares to reach A$9.60 within 12 months, while Deutsche Bank has a a 12-month price target of A$11 a share.

* * *

The United Nations has sent a team of specialists to assess the stability of a tailings dam at the Gold Ridge mine in Solomon Islands. The SI government is worried the tailings dam may fail and endanger the lives of 8,000 people living nearby, following flash flooding three weeks ago, which forced St Barbara to shut down the operation. St Barbara’s CEO, Tim Lehaney, says he’s mystified by a ban on expatriate staff returning the country.

* * *

Transparency Solomon Islands says MPs have seriously breached their responsibilities in the way they have distributed flood assistance. The Solomons Government gave each MP US$40,000, characterised as ‘constituency funds’, which could be used for disaster relief.

* * *

Finally, a photograph of the 2014 ANZAC Day Commemoration at Bomana Cemetery, Port Moresby, provided by Stephen Rae of Media Haus Productions. Lest we forget.

Credit: Media Haus Productions