The Porgera gold mine, which is of significant economic importance to Papua New Guinea, is facing renewed challenges shortly after reopening. Authorities attribute this to an influx of illegal miners into the volatile highlands region.
Police Commissioner David Manning recently announced that these “illegal squatters” took advantage of the mine’s previous closure to occupy land. He demanded their eviction within 48 hours to avoid confrontations with landowners, which have been on the rise.
Prime Minister James Marape’s government, which has been dealing with numerous crises, celebrated the December reopening of the mine under increased local ownership after nearly four years of closure. Marape anticipates substantial economic gains for Papua New Guinea from the mine over the next two decades, despite the region’s history of violence.
Manning’s directive follows Marape’s announcement that the Cabinet authorized a joint police and military operation to address the issue of illegal mining at Porgera.
The extent of unauthorized mining within the area controlled by New Porgera, a partly foreign-owned mining company, remains unclear. Both the prime minister’s office and the police have yet to comment on the matter.
New Porgera declined to comment, stating that maintaining law and order continues to pose a challenge for the venture, and further vandalism of mine infrastructure could disrupt gold production.
The Porgera mine, inaugurated in 1990 and situated about 600 kilometers northwest of Port Moresby, has a troubled history marked by conflict and human rights abuses.
In 2021, the mine’s foreign investors, Barrick Gold Corp. of Canada and China’s Zijin Mining, agreed to reduce their combined stake to 49% following the Papua New Guinea government’s refusal to renew Porgera’s license. Currently, the government owns 36%, while the remaining 15% is shared between landowners and the provincial government of Enga.
Marape expressed concern over the recent surge in illegal mining, especially given the existing tribal conflicts in the region. He emphasized the danger posed to both illegal miners and mine workers and outlined plans to issue identification cards to traditional landowners and business owners in the Porgera Valley, along with passes for other residents.
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