The PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum has announced the appointment of Ms. Gretel Orake as its new Policy Manager.
President for the Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, Mr. Anthony Smaré, said the Chamber is delighted to welcome Ms Orake onto the leadership team at the Chamber. “All corporate players in the mining and petroleum industry know and respect Ms Orake given her past history in the government environment and mining regulatory agencies, particularly in assessing new mining projects, and the more recent work that she has been doing with renewable energy policy previously with the UNDP. She is another home-grown leading Papua New Guinean in her field. We are delighted that she is coming on board to lead how the Chamber engages with Government and stakeholders in the development of policy - particularly the research and collation of data to inform constructive dialogue and support policy formulation - that influences the role that the industry can play in the future of the country and all stakeholders.”
“Ms Orake joins the Chamber team currently led by our COO Mrs. Pansy Taueni-Sialis. It’s all part of a restructuring and reorganization of the Chamber by the industry, and the Chamber expects to announce other leadership additions over the next two months”
Ms Orake joins the Chamber from United Nations Development Program where she was project manager overseeing various environmental and energy projects and working to develop renewable energy policies and regulations working closely with industry stakeholders, government, and communities.
Ms Orake holds a Master of Science and Environmental Law from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Papua New Guinea and has twenty-three (23) years of experience in mining and environmental sustainability, where she has played instrumental roles mainly in regulatory and planning of mining and environmental matters in Papua New Guinea.
Ms Orake’s career started with Ok Tedi Mining Limited as a graduate biologist working on monitoring the environmental impacts of mining activities. She then joined the Office of Environment and Conservation and gained first-hand experience in government processes involved with environmental impact assessment, permitting and enforcement including mine closure planning and compensation.
In 2008, Ms Orake joined Mineral Resources Authority as a mining regulator. Her role involved technical assessments of exploration and mining licenses providing advice to the Mining Advisory Council and contributing to the State review teams to inform the Mining Act Review. She was instrumental in the installation of the mining cadaster system for Papua New Guinea with funding support from the World Bank. During her time with MRA, Ms Orake was also involved in working with state lawyers providing technical guidance to assist the courts in relation to mining and environment in Papua New Guinea.
Ms Orake is passionate about sustainable development and believes there is opportunity to maximize benefits from limited resources for all Papua New Guineans. She believes in empowering women in entrepreneurship and leadership. In her spare time, she works on community development projects.
