MRA warned to deal with legitimate landowners

By PATRICK SAKAL

THE landowners of Maramuni gold prospect in Wabag district have warned the Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) to conduct proper consultations before issuing exploration licenses.

The warning came following a recent newspaper report of an allegation among paper landowners from Port Moresby who conspired with MRA officers and Wabag District Development Authority (WDDA) to grant exploration license to a named exploration company without consulting the genuine landowners.

The report stated that only credible exploration companies will be engaged to do further confirmative sampling and progress the project into development phase and eventually into operations phase in the near future.

According to MRA, high grade gold deposits were discovered in these Exploration License tenements of (EL) 1420 and (EL) 1349 at Maramuni area on every drill depths of the drilled cores.

Chief landowner, Timothy Warip who is the tenement license holder of the Alluvial Mining Lease (AML) 597, (EL)1420 and (EL)1349 in the Maramuni Local Level Government (LLG) of Wabag district, Enga province on Friday expressed concerns that without proper consultation of the legitimate landowners MRA should not grant any EL.

Mr Warip who is also chairman and director of Lengmond Alluvial Mining Limited said AML was issued to him after an exhaustive warden’s hearing in Wabag back in March 2008.

“This AML was in recognition that I was the chief landowner with traditional rights to mine the resources in these mountains that I inherited from my fathers and great grandfathers.

I am still the legitimate leaseholder,” he said.

“As the chief of these mountains I know who others are the legitimate landowners in this project and our attempt to remind Wabag DDA and MRA to be considerate in their stakeholder engagements which has fallen on deaf ears.

“How could you start a project without proper consultation with legitimate landowners?

I and my tribal leaders will be there when you conduct your next Wardens hearing.

“Stop issuing free lunch to unnecessary people who con you with false hope.

They won’t give you the social license you seek,” he warned.

The frustrated chief landowner also called on the Chairman of Wabag DDA and Wabag MP, Lino Tom to be very careful with whom and how the discussions in the project are being progressed.