Year in review: Mining and community outreach

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), mining isn’t only about production volumes and processing rates.

The most valued resource extraction projects across the country are also giving back to the communities that surround their mine sites.

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the community outreach and sustainability programs that have kept miners in touch with some of their most important local stakeholders.

Ok Tedi successfully negotiated a revised Community Mine Continuation Agreement covering 2026 to 2033, encompassing multiple land and water-based communities across Western Province. The agreement introduces enhanced compensation, expanded education and health support, strengthened environmental safeguards, and improved governance frameworks giving greater representation to churches, women, and youth.

Ok Tedi also opened its first dedicated mental health clinic at Tabubil Hospital in January, offering counselling, therapy, educational resources, and awareness workshops. The clinic forms part of OTML’s broader strategy to reduce psychosocial hazards and alleviates the burden on national facilities by providing primary care interventions at the community level.

Frieda River Limited (FRL) partnered with Ambunti District Hospital to deliver an integrated health program that provided services to 342 women and children and treated 1,238 patients for common ailments. The initiative included a targeted tuberculosis screening program reaching remote communities where residents lack regular access to testing and treatment. FRL is also providing essential health services to the remote village of Sokamin through a permanent clinic equipped with high-frequency radio for emergency medical evacuations via chartered helicopter. The company also facilitates transfer of medical supplies including vaccines and medications from Wewak to Sokamin and other Frieda River catchment villages.

In further community outreach, FRL sponsored specialised plastic surgery equipment including nerve and cleft palate trays for PNG’s 2025 plastic and reconstructive surgery program. The equipment will support surgical teams performing free consultations and surgeries while training PNG-based medical staff in Wewak.

FRL’s training programs have equipped women with leadership skills, financial literacy, and women’s community healthcare knowledge. Specialised training in village births and menstrual health has provided vital obstetric skills and family planning knowledge, empowering women to address life-threatening childbirth issues in remote areas.

New Porgera Limited donated over 33,000 kina worth of automotive training equipment and computer systems to the Laiagam Appropriate Technology Centre in Enga Province. The donation supports vocational training for the approximately 80 percent of Porgera mine jobs requiring technical expertise, with the center graduating over 200 students annually.

Newmont’s 2024 sustainability and taxes reports highlighted $16 billion in total economic contributions, including $2.6 billion spent with local suppliers and $69 million invested in community projects. The company achieved Copper Mark and Molybdenum Mark certifications while women represented 33 percent of senior leadership and 50 percent of executive leadership.