Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) has financially backed the Geoscience, Exploration & Extraction meet with the presentation of a K100,000 dummy cheque.
The conference will be held from August 7-9, 2024, at the APEC Haus, Port Moresby. This is the second time that the MRA will be staging this two-yearly conference. The inaugural conference was held in 2022.
OTML’s General Manager Social Performance and Sustainability, Jesse Pile, and Manager Corporate Affairs, Dexter Wagambie, presented the dummy cheque signifying the sponsorship, to the Patron of the GEE Conferences and Managing Director of the MRA, Jerry Garry.
When receiving the sponsorship, Mr Garry expressed the organising committee’s and the MRA’s gratitude towards OTML for its generous support.
He said that the contribution was important in enabling the staging of the conference. Mr. Garry said the mining and the geoscience community in the country has not had a platform such as the GEE Conferences for the last two-three decades, where geoscience and engineering knowledge and ideas could be shared and discussed as learnings for the betterment of the industry as well as for the country.
“We have people who are doing research work in Ok Tedi, in their laboratory to overcome recovery problems or overcome metallurgical problems. There are people who are working in different parts such as Kainantu. They maybe looking at different ore types and there maybe new findings. But there is no medium in this country to share those new findings and foster growth within the scientific community, and GEE is now the appropriate avenue to do that,” Mr Garry appealed to other industry partners and stakeholders to support the conference.
Mr. Pile said OTML as a state-owned entity felt that it was only proper to be at the forefront of conferences like this. He said this is because GEE would contribute towards the development of PNG in terms of research and human resources development.
Mr. Pile said: “This contribution is building on the very healthy relationship OTML has with MRA. From our observations, MRA is a leading organisation amongst other government authorities and agencies. The manner in which you run your organisation is professional, and Ok Tedi finds it fitting to work with your organisation, because of your professionalism. So this contribution is building on from what has been established over the years.”
The GEE Conference aims to bring together leading academics, scientists, researchers and geoscientists, to share experiences and share research results in geological exploration and mineral extraction.
It will also provide a premier inter-disciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators, to present and discuss the latest innovations, trends, concerns and practical solutions to challenges encountered throughout the business spectrum of the mining business.
The conference will be the premier meeting place where stakeholders can connect and network with others in the field of geoscience, from learners to practitioners to decision-makers.
Presenters and participants will come from PNG and international-based organizations as well as individuals, government agencies, and Non-Government Organizations.