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By VERONICA MANUK
LANDOWNERS of the Sinivit gold mine in East New Britain have claimed
that the developer, New Guinea Gold Limited, had secretly transferred
and sold gold without anyone’s knowledge.
The chairman of the Uramat clan, Hosea Kaelam told The National last
Friday that the landowners were not happy after discovering there were
no gold bars stored in the gold store room at the mine.
He said after learning that, he accompanied the landowners to the site
last Monday to enquire about the bars produced in July and August.
Mr Kaelam said the response they got from the mine manager and the
community relations and corporate affairs manager was that the gold had
been moved to Port Moresby for further refining and export.
“The officials told us to ‘shut our mouths’ and to not tell anyone about
the secret transition from Sinivit to Port Moresby and even to the gold
market,” Mr Kaelam said.
The chairman of New Guinea Gold Limited Bob McNeil when contacted in
Australia said for the last three months, the company had sold two
kilograms of gold worth K130,000.
He said for security reasons, the company did not seek any approval from
landowners or the provincial government.
However, Mr McNeil said if the landowners had any problems, they should
contact the company executives.
He said the company would still pay royalties to the landowners under
the agreement.
According to provincial government sources, the provincial government
was aware of the gold production at Mt Sinivit, however, its movement
had not been revealed to them.
The sources said if the story was true, the company should be held
accountable for their actions.
Meanwhile, Mr Kaelam blamed the provincial and the national governments
for the delay in the signing of the Deed of Amendment to the 1996
memorandum of agreement which has caused landowners to miss out on
benefits.
 
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