State, firm told to talk over assets
DEPUTY Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi over the weekend asked the State and Barrick Niugini Ltd (BNL) to seek instructions on the issue of preservation of assets before seeking orders or setting an agreement.
This was to allow parties to try to verify and set an agreement on the preservation of assets including third party assets, and non-infrastructural assets.
This comes after Solicitor-General Tauvasa Tanuvasa on Friday presented an application for preservation of assets at the Porgera gold mine in Enga that BNL operates.
Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) lawyer Nelson Saroa asked for variation of a previous order to encompass all assets to be in custody of the state pending judicial review.
Saroa explained that this was because the State had filed another application in relation to alleged attempted exportation of gold by the miner.
These are pending applications while the substantive matter regarding a judicial review proceedings BNL has filed against the State for refusing to extend its special mining lease has proceeded into mediation today.
The mediation was ordered last week by Justice Kandakasi.
BNL through its lawyer Derek Wood, of Ashurst Lawyers, opposed Tanuvasa’s application but proposed orders in terms of allowing BNL to remove or use properties including third party properties because Wood claimed that there were non-infrastructural assets like explosives and chemicals.
The State refused to reply to the proposed orders by BNL and instead asked for time to obtain instructions.
Justice Kandakasi informed the parties that their applications seeking interim injunction orders might be heard before another judge if they failed to set an agreement on preservation.
One thought on “State, firm told to talk over assets”
MRA and Government Common sense must prevail, the wisest thing the Government should do was to let BNL continue operate and change the laws. Instead it was opposite. We want to own our resources but we have to do it professionally by changing laws and not taking actions to disrupt operation which has affected 2700 employees and the economy of this country. As stated by press release Barrick is taking next step by going to international court and this will take years. The geological data belongs to BNL and if BNL leaves it will take another 4 to 5 years of explorations by Government or whoever taking over. Benefit sharing agreement – 49/51 is fair enough which government should agree to put stop to this madness and go back to Parliament to change laws that will suit our interest.
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