Establishing a 100% Papua New Guinea-owned gold refinery will benefit the economy by increasing revenue, creating jobs and promoting self-reliance in the alluvium gold and mining sector.
Benefits of PNG-owned Gold Refinery run by Papua New Guineans
The establishment of a 100% Papua New Guinea-owned gold refinery will bring about numerous benefits for the economy.
The country has been dependent on foreign companies to mine its minerals, refine them and then sell them back to PNG. This has resulted in PNG not getting its fair share of the wealth generated from its own natural resources.
Therefore, a 100% PNG-owned refinery will provide an opportunity for PNG to refine its minerals, generate revenue and create jobs for its citizens.
Luther Wenge Wants a PNG-owned Gold Refinery
According to Hon. Luther Wenge, the Morobe Governor, PNG has minerals of all kinds which are currently being exported to other countries to be refined.
If a refinery is established, the minerals can be refined in the country, and the gold can be extracted from other minerals to sell and bring hard currency into the country. This will promote self-reliance in the mining sector, which is currently dominated by foreign companies.
Hon, Wenge stated in the PNG Parliament Hansard (PDF),
“we cannot continue to allow these things to happen. We must refine the minerals ourselves… This is ‘hard money’ which is valued higher when compared to Papua New Guinea Kina”.
PNG losing out on job opportunities
The current situation also results in PNG losing out on job opportunities as foreign companies are the ones doing the mining and refining, which reduces the number of jobs created in PNG.
By establishing a 100% PNG-owned refinery, PNG will have the opportunity to create more jobs for its citizens in the mining sector, which is critical for the economy's growth.
Sir Ano Pala recorded in the PNG Parliament Hansard in response to Hon. Wenge's statement on PNG-owned Gold Refinery said,
“Governor, what you are raising is what the country needs right now. If you have the resources, organization, and corporate structure ready, I will allow you to set up a refinery because we don’t have a refinery at the moment”.
Economic Benefits of PNG-owned Gold Refinery
The proposed establishment of a 100% PNG-owned refinery will increase the country's revenue.
Currently, foreign companies are exporting PNG’s minerals and generating revenue for themselves.
By establishing a refinery, PNG can refine its minerals, extract gold from other minerals, and sell it to other countries. This will increase PNG’s revenue, which can be used for development projects that will benefit the people of PNG.
Gold Refinery Holding Act Bill
In a recent parliamentary bill called the Gold Refinery Holding Act Bill (yet to be passed into law), the PNG prime minister is said to have sponsored the parliament Bill.
The details of the 'Bill' is not clear, but is it likely to create a proxy gold refinery outside of PNG, contrary to the idea of a PNG-owned Gold refinery.
It can be damned if the decision to mine and sell PNG Gold Bullion and Gold Bars is left in the hands of proxies and their wanton cohorts.
Whatever the deal is, it has to be transparent so as not to provoke unnecessary speculations.
PNG-owned Gold refinery way forward
All in all, the establishment of a 100% Papua New Guinea-owned gold refinery is beneficial for the economy.
It will promote self-reliance, create jobs and increase revenue for the country.
As Mr Garry Juffa stated in the PNG Parliament Hansard,
“Let’s state that, if we want to build a refinery, it must be owned by Papua New Guineans 100 per cent”.
This is an opportunity for PNG to take control of its natural resources, refine them and generate wealth for its citizens.
1 comment:
Why cannot the government make this bill transparent to the people of Papua New Guinea to review the clauses to ensure all clauses are in the best interest of the people of this great nation.
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