Agreements nearing

By DALE LUMA in Lihir
LIHIR Gold Ltd (LGL) is on the verge of completing its compensation, relocation and development agreements with project impacted landowners, chief operating officer Craig Jones says.
“This is the culmination of many years of work,” he said.
“I want to acknowledge all the hard work put in, particularly by the tenement block landowners and other leaders and community members.
“We look forward to finalising these agreements.
“The Lihir MOA (memorandum of agreement) which for the first time, LGLs were invited to be part of, was completed in 2017 and is now before the NEC (National Executive Council) and we hope that it can be endorsed and we can get it signed,” Jones said.
“The Lihir MOA, compensation, relocation and development aspirations in Lihir, Namatanai and a wider New Ireland to even greater heights.”
Jones said the future of the Lihir mine looked very bright.
“We have developed a plan for the mine’s future which takes into account a vibrant workforce, good collaborative partnerships with our stakeholders, including landowners, government and business partners,” he said.
“We have so much untapped potential and aim to contribute to harness this potential to add value to our operations.
“We are also looking beyond the life of the mine and focusing on how we can help create resilient, strong and independent communities.
“We continue to engage with our stakeholders, local landowners, government, workforce and business partners to deliver on the ground projects and communities.”