PNG Offers Mining Expertise to Help Solomon Islands Build Stronger Resource Sector

Papua New Guinea has offered to help Solomon Islands shape its mining future by sharing decades of experience in resource development while encouraging PNG-owned mining companies to explore investment opportunities across the neighbouring nation.

The proposal was raised during talks in Port Moresby between Prime Minister James Marape and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale on Friday, where both leaders discussed closer cooperation in developing mineral resources and creating policies that deliver greater returns for their citizens.

 PNG Offers Mining Expertise to Help Solomon Islands Build Stronger Resource Sector

Prime Minister Marape said Papua New Guinea had spent many years improving its mining and resource laws and was ready to assist Solomon Islands establish a legal and regulatory framework that balanced investor confidence with national interests.

He said both countries, which sit along the mineral-rich Pacific Ring of Fire, had enormous untapped potential and should work together to ensure future mining developments benefited their people.

According to Mr Marape, PNG was prepared to deploy experienced resource lawyers and technical specialists to work alongside Solomon Islands officials in drafting modern mining legislation.

He said Papua New Guinea's current resource policy was designed to secure at least 55 per cent of the total economic value generated from large mining operations through taxes, royalties, equity participation and other fiscal arrangements.

Mr Marape said investors deserved fair returns for bringing finance, technology and expertise into projects, but resource-owning nations should also receive a just share of the wealth generated from their own minerals.

He said government and landowner equity participation offered benefits beyond taxation because ownership provided greater influence over project decisions and long-term economic gains.

Mr Marape also reflected on the experience of the Panguna Mine in Bougainville, saying it demonstrated the consequences of failing to properly involve customary landowners in major resource projects.

He stressed that mining legislation across Melanesia needed to recognise that most mineral deposits were located on customary land and ensure benefits reached the people who owned those areas.

The Prime Minister pointed to the reopening of the Porgera Gold Mine as an example of PNG negotiating stronger national participation after securing a 51 per cent interest.

Mr Marape said Prime Minister Wale had shown interest in adopting a similar model in Solomon Islands and had invited PNG mining companies to participate in future developments where Solomon Islands would retain majority ownership.

He confirmed that Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited and Ok Tedi Mining Limited had been directed to assess potential investment opportunities and begin discussions with Solomon Islands counterparts.

Mr Marape also disclosed that France had extended a similar invitation following his recent state visit, with talks continuing over possible PNG participation in nickel developments in New Caledonia.

He said Papua New Guinea was entering a new era in which locally-owned mining companies were expanding beyond domestic projects after many years of relying on foreign investors.

Mr Marape also encouraged Solomon Islands to strengthen local content policies to increase employment, business opportunities and value-added industries.

"As you develop your mining laws, it is important to get them right from the beginning.

"Papua New Guinea is still refining its own resource laws, but we have accumulated decades of experience. We are prepared to send our resource lawyers and technical experts to work with your team so that together we can develop policies that deliver long-term benefits for our people."

"Our objective is simple. Investors must make a reasonable return because they bring capital, technology and expertise. At the same time, the country that owns the resources must also receive a fair and equitable share of the benefits."

"The Bougainville crisis remains a lasting reminder of what can happen when resource development is not perceived as fair by the people who own the land.

"Our biggest lesson is this: if you do not get the relationship with customary landowners right, the project will ultimately fail. Landowners must be central to any resource development policy."

"Resource investors are not charities. Governments must strike the right balance so investors continue to achieve internationally competitive returns while resource-owning countries receive a substantially greater share of the overall benefits."