O’Neill says mining leases extended

THE mining lease agreement for Bougainville expired last Friday but the mining lease agreement automatically extends for another 21 days as per the Mining Act, parliament has been told.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said this when responding to a series of questions by National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop.
Parkop asked if the government was going to review the mining release agreement that expired last Friday.
He said many people in Papua New Guinea and Bougainvilleans had gone through hard times and he asked why there should not be any review.
He asked if there was any moratorium in place for any further exploration in any other part of the autonomous region.
He asked if a review could be done with a year-to-year lease agreement.
O’Neill said there would not be any review because of an automatic 21-year extension clause under the Bougainville agreement.
He said the Bougainville mining agreement did not cater for any review nor did it allow the government to cancel it.
He said the government would be consulting with the people and the ABG to find a solution to review the 21-year automatic extension.