Landowners want Jetson to remain as Newcrest chief

NEWCREST Mining will retain Lihir executive general manager Craig Jetson until its agreements review is complete, the company has decided.
Jetson was going to leave the company until Lihir landowners pressured his retention because they felt he was the only executive who they could deal with.
The landowners gave Newcrest 21 days to reverse its decision to remove Jetson.
In a meeting with Jetson, the new chief operating officer for PNG Craig Jones, and Lihir general manager Chris Jordaan, the leaders of the 13 Lihir tenement block holders, led by Newman Sana, told Newcrest it had 21 days to reverse its decision or they would shut the operation from Kunaye airport to the mine and process plant. However, Newcrest, according to a statement, confirmed that there was a meeting late last week and had since explained to Sana that Jetson would remain the Newcrest leader for the Lihir agreements review.
“Jones will shortly take over the operations at Lihir mine in his new role as chief operating officer for PNG, which signals the importance Newcrest attaches to the country,” the statement said.
“Jetson has made it clear that it is time for him to move on from Papua New Guinea, but that he is committed to advancing the Lihir agreements review before he does so.”
Sana said Jetson was the first executive and general manager to go to the community and landowners’ level to genuinely engage with them.
His removal in the middle of a review of the compensation package for the landowners was a breach of trust, Sana said.
The landowners were aware that under Craig’s leadership, he had delivered profits for both the Cadia and Lihir operations for Newcrest and believed this might be a “constructive dismissal” to derail a better compensation package for the landowners.
“We have suffered for 20 years and Jetson brought hope and is the only one that has made the difference,” Sana said.
“He is respected by all Lihirians, not just the affected land owners. You have not thought this change through and the impact this will have on your company, your reputation in NIP and in the wider community of PNG.”
The call was made as the tenements groups on Lihir were currently in a State-sanctioned process where they were negotiating their compensation package with Newcrest when it pulled the plug on the man responsible for change on Lihir.
Sana told Newcrest leaders: “You (Lihir) will not get your million ounces.”
Following the meeting, the 13 tenement block leaders wrote to the chairman of Newcrest Peter Hay and the managing director and chief operating officer Sandeep Biswas stating their resentment and concern at the timing of the removal of Jetson.