The Deed of Amendment to the Porgera Project Commencement Agreement (PPCA), and the Deed of Escrow to park 10% of the project equity were signed today at the Government House.
The PPCA was deemed concluded when Mineral Resources Enga signed on 3rd February 2022.
The PPCA is the central and structural document designed to elaborate and deal more specifically with what was set out in the Framework Agreement.
In a statement the Prime Minister explains that the PPCA is the main foundational agreement that establishes how the joint venture will operate and the operating model that delivers the agreed benefits to all parties.
It deals with legacy liability issues, taxation issues, license issues, the establishment of the incorporated joint ventures, benefit flows, landowner benefits, project financing, mine closure and reclamation, fiscal and regulatory stability issues, and other issues and legal terms supporting the recommencement of the mine.
The Prime Minister said this is a major milestone and the Government needed to ensure that all the important responsibilities and commitments by all stakeholders are captured in very clear terms under this agreement.
The Prime Minister acknowledged Barrick and its CEO, Mark Bristow, for his patience in allowing the state and its stakeholders to ensure that any matters, which were overlooked in the original PPCA, were captured in the amendment deed.
“The amended PPCA now paves the way for the parties to move very quickly to implement further series of documents which include, the signing of the shareholders’ agreement and the incorporation of the joint venture company, the operatorship agreement between the joint venture company, and Barrick as the operator, the fiscal stability agreement, a mining development contract, and the memorandum of agreement regarding benefit-sharing between the relevant provincial government and local level government.
In accordance with the PPCA, the shares in the new project company will be as follows: Barrick Gold and Zijin, 49%, Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited, 36%, Mineral Resources Enga, 5%, and Porgera Landowners 10%.
The parties to the PPCA have agreed that until such time a determination is reached by the landowners as to how the 10% is apportioned, at an appropriate forum, the 10% would be held in escrow.
Marape said this arrangement is important because they want a proper forum to be held to have the landowners themselves determine how the shares will be held to best represent their interests.
The intention of the escrow is to allow the project company to be incorporated in the short term so to enable the lodgment of its application for a special mining lease to be made.
It further allows important regulatory tasks to proceed unhindered while plans are put into place for the development forum to take place.
“I am also pleased to announce that the stakeholders have all agreed for the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) to be the escrow agent. MRDC is an experienced company dealing with landowner matters in the oil, gas, and mining space. We are confident that they will be able to perform their tasks diligently in accordance with the Deed of Escrow.”
These important signings now pave the way for the final pieces of the puzzle to be put in place for the mine to be reopened.
“I have been briefed on the critical pathway to the reopening of the mine, and it remains my utmost priority to ensure that matters which are within the control of the government are concluded as soon as possible to allow the process to move and accelerate. The operator has already assembled their team to design the shortest possible pathway and I want to do what I can to assist in this regard.”
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