Authority clarifies role under mining act

 THE Mineral Resource Authority’s regulatory role under the Mining Act does not directly involve recognition of landowner and landholder groups for tenement purposes, managing director Philip Samar says. 

Samar was that when responding to a call by Mayur Exploration PNG Ltd which urged the Anir Islands Resource Owners Association (AIROA) in New Ireland to stop spreading misleading information and work with them.

Samar said landowners and landholders may need to be recognised for memorandum of agreement and development forum matters. 

“An association is recognised for the purposes of the development forum and subsequent MOA negotiations,” he said. 

“They should be identified by the tenement holder for Mining Act compensation purposes.” He said despite the association’s claim that it represented all Anir islanders, there was another landowner association that claimed to represent landowners of the land that Mayur Exploration was focusing its activities on Anir Island. 

Mayur Exploration PNG managing director Paul Mauld had said that a joint delegation of MRA and Mayur Exploration confirmed that AIROA’s claims were misrepresented of the views of true landowners, namely the Babamais Landowners Association.

“In 2015 AIROA admitted in the presence of provincial police officers of being linked to illegal activities that involved threats, detainment and physical assaults of Mayur personnel preventing them from conducting exploration activities.”