Photo credit: Newcrest
With the help of royalties, taxes, a production levy, and vendor agreements, PNG has received K1.5 billion from Newcrest's Lihir Gold Mine in the province of New Ireland.
Speaking during the recent induction of the Members of the 11th Parliament in Port Moresby, Newcrest PNG country manager Stanley Komunt stated that the business is dedicated to investing in PNG.
He stated that Newcrest is pleased with the progress it has made toward a more powerful and affluent Papua New Guinea and that it looks forward to "expanding our presence in the nation for many years to come."
“In financial year 2022 (from July 2021 to June 2022) the highlights of Lihir’s contribution to PNG include, but are not limited to the following K238.8 million total tax and production levy paid to the PNG government, K85.8 million in royalties paid to the PNG government and Newcrest prioritises the purchase of goods and services from local suppliers and contractors in PNG,” Mr Komunt said.
“In 2022, the company paid K1.2 billion to PNG suppliers for operating costs including equipment, labour, maintenance, consumables, food and fuel and out of this, over K553 million was to Lihirian vendors, which is an increase of 8 per cent on the same period last year.”
One of the biggest foreign exchange donors to PNG, according to him, is Newcrest, which purchased K1.711 billion in cash and contributed almost US$487 million to the country's foreign exchange balance.
Measures attempted to lessen the effects of COVID-19 on Lihir's communities and activities, according to Mr. Komunt, resulted in an extra K144 million in management expenses.
He also emphasised the need of stable policies and regulations, which will promote expanded mining exploration and the approval of new mining enterprises.
