Ramu NiCo ready to invest K3mil into project fund

The National Business

MORE than K3 million is ready to be paid into the trust account for Ramu NiCo Project Future Generation Funds, according to the mine’s management.
Ramu Nico Management said that the monies were from the three royalty payment components Jan 2013 to June 2017, July to Dec 2017 and Jan to Dec 2018, and totalled K2,009,812.32, compensation payment of K1,282,480 from 2006 to 2018 and K5000,000 from Highlands Pacific operation from 2000 to 2005.
“So we now have a total of K3,793,292.32 ready to be paid into the Trust Fund Account.
“The money is divided among Kurumbukari, Basamuk, Inland Pipeline and Coastal Pipeline landowner’s association,” the company said in a statement.
The company said the only hold up now was from Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) failing to liaise with the Treasury department by law and procedure to create the trust account that would enable Ramu Nico to deposit the funds.
“MRA and Treasury are the responsible statutory bodies and were informed. We followed up but no responses from them to date.”
The company said this following Madang Governor Peter Yama’s claim that no royalties and Future Generation Trust Fund money had been paid and the company would be sued.
From the three royalty payments so far, Ramu NiCo has paid K50,245,308.24 to the project landowners and beneficiaries to date where Madang provincial government received its eight percent share of K4,019, 626. 96 paid into its operating BSP account.
“With the low nickel-cobalt grade including lower commodity prices, the company is unable to pay royalty on a monthly basis as per the Mining Act so it was agreed through the Ramu Nickel Project Royalty Policy approved by the Mining Minister that Ramu nickel project’s royalties could be paid on an annual basis.
“We hope our stakeholders including the landowners and Madang provincial government understand that we are making less profit, yet managing to make all stakeholders happy by paying their royalty monies,” the company said.
The company management said it was open to discussions if any organisation or parties to the project had a query on any issues relating to the project instead of going to the media to speculate with information that was not true and would be detrimental to the project.