Greg Anderson

In a statement, the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative National Secretariat said: “Greg Anderson, who has been at the helm of the industry peak body since 1989, said he was confident the next generation of resource projects will distribute prosperity to a much larger proportion of Papua New Guinea.

“He noted that for the first time in PNG history, exports earned from the industry just topped over K20 billion in 2016 out of the total export worth K24.8 billion.”

Greg Anderson, who leaves after 28 years in the role, has been commended by Papua New Guinea Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s National Secretariat Head, Lucas Alkan, for being supportive to them.

In a media statement, Alkan said Anderson had been supportive since PNG agreed to implement the EITI reporting process as a candidate country in 2013.

“It’s been a wonderful time working with the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum under the leadership of Mr Greg Anderson, particularly in supporting us implement the EITI reporting in the country,” Alkan said.

The Chamber Council announced today the appointment of the former University of Papua New Guinea Vice Chancellor to replace Anderson, who has been at the helm of the resource industry association for 28 years.

President of the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, Gerea Aopi, welcomed Prof. Mellam’s appointment and thanked Anderson for his tireless service to the Chamber and the PNG resource industry.

Mellam brings to the Chamber a wealth of experience, having worked as a senior academic and vice chancellor for more than 29 years at the University of Papua New Guinea.

The competition's organising committee today welcomed the Chamber's sponsorship towards the ‘Essay and Journalism’ category which it has supported since 2010 when the competition was first established.

The Chamber's Executive Director, Greg Anderson said the Chamber's support demonstrates its commitment to supporting and encouraging aspiring PNG writers and essayists.

"The Crocodile Prize has helped many PNG writers since its establishment and with our ongoing support, we believe many more Papua New Guineans will have their work published and recognised," Anderson said.

The conference will be held from December 5-7

Papua New Guinea Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (PNGCMP) which has been hosting the conference since the early 1990s will for the first time will introduce this technology.

Called the Event Briefcase, the App will allow delegates to access information about the various speakers, session details, exhibitors, sponsors and conference presentations using their Smart phones and tablets.

Despite the suspended closure of the country’s OK Tedi mine operation in the Western Province many new copper mines will come into operation in the coming years.

“Two mega projects likely to commence production late this decade are the Frieda River copper-gold project in Sandaun Province and the Wafi-Golpu project in Morobe Province,” Anderson said.

“Both are among the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world, where production will last for many decades.