FAQs

No, foreign owned and registered companies can operate in Papua New Guinea

Yes, whether you are a foreign or domestic company, you must register your business with the Investment Promotions Authority (IPA).
Investment Promotion Authority | Papua New Guinea (ipa.gov.pg).

The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) is the regulator. MRA is a national government institution. Its administers the Acts, i.e. Mining Act 1992 & the Mining Safety Act 1977

You can download the necessary forms to complete from the MRA website or over the counter from MRA in the Mining Haus, located along Poreporena Highway, at Konedobu, Port Moresby City, National Capital District.

No, you must front up in person at the Mining Haus to lodge your application.

Refer to question 6 answer; and the application is considered on a “first come – first serve” basis. Therefore the date and time stamp on the tenements register is important to differentiate the timing of lodgment.

The first point of call for this data and other exploration/mining related data is the MRA. You can email info@mra.gov.pg for these information. The MRA website is a great tool to guide you to the information.

On an average it may take 4 - 12 months, depending on the type of application and the due diligence done on the application.

Yes, you can register to the Tenement Management Systems as a permissible user and track your application in real time.

The Mining Minister makes the final decision on all exploration tenement (EL & ELA) and mining license (ML) applications. The Prime Minister makes the final decision on all special mining licenses (SML) applications.