BARRICK Niugini Limited (BNL) has urged Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to refrain from making further public comments pending the determination of legal proceedings concerning the Porgera mine.
BNL was responding to Marape’s comments yesterday that the Government expected the Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited (KMHL) to reopen the Porgera mine immediately, exercising its rights in a contract signed in 1989. The Supreme Court last Friday had rejected an application by BNL to stay a National Court decision relating to the issuance of a special mining licence on the mine.
The mining company referred Marape to his previous public comment regarding respecting the prerogative of BNL to exercise its legal rights through the courts.
“While the Prime Minister was correct in stating that on Sept 25 the Supreme Court dismissed BNL’s application for the court to stay the decision of the National Court pending determination of the appeal, this does not represent the end of the legal proceedings currently before the Supreme Court as the appeal is still proceeding,” it said.
“In the decision regarding BNL’s stay application delivered by Justice Collin Makail in the Supreme Court, the court affirmed that BNL has an arguable case to be heard on appeal, and that the decision of the National Court to dismiss the matter on procedural grounds meant that questions surrounding its application for extension of the SML remained unanswered.”
It said Justice Makail noted as “valid points” BNL’s objections to the State and its agencies using subsequent NEC decisions to attempt to circumvent and frustrate the due process of the court, and to subvert BNL’s legitimate attempts to seek legal redress from the courts.
BNL said it meant that the status quo of BNL being in possession of the Porgera mine site and maintaining it in a state of care and maintenance remains, without the interference of the State or other parties.
TheNational/PacificMiningNews
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