MP calls on locals to choose peace before mine reopens

PORGERA-Paiela MP Maso Karipe has urged locals to lay down they guns and embrace peace because the new Porgera mine is to reopen soon.
Karipe made the statement in Port Moresby following the signing of the Porgera mine shareholders agreement by the Mineral Resources Enga (MRE).
He also said the Government should ensure law and order issues were restored before the mine reopened.
“We all must go back to Porgera and fix the law and order issues,” he said.
“Innocent people are dying.
“It is a national issue.”
MRE director Nixon Mangape who also signed the shareholders agreement also called on locals to lay down their arms.
“I appeal to people of Porgera to stop fighting,” he said.
The MRE last week finally signed the shareholders agreement.
Mine operator Barrick Niugini Ltd had (BNL) and Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd signed it in April.
BNL owns 49 per cent share of the Porgera while Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd owns 36 per cent and MRE 15 per cent.
The multi-billion Kina mine was shut down in 2020 following the Government’s refusal to extend the mining lease to BNL.