Adding and sustaining benefits: Large-scale mining and landowner business development in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of local content practices across the mining industry in Papua New Guinea. We present data from the first nation-wide study on local business development, also known as ‘landowner business development’. We challenge the common belief that there are weak linkages between the mining industry and other sectors of the economy. We argue that the number of businesses that are created or supported by large-scale mining projects is much higher than typically assumed. We also argue that it is difficult to conclude in simple terms whether many of these businesses have ‘failed’ or ‘succeeded’, which is due to the multitude of motivations behind the development of these ventures. Although the mining industry is certainly ‘adding’ many benefits (to host communities and the government) during the operational phase of these projects, there is less evidence to suggest that these particular benefits will be sustained beyond the life of individual projects in the post-closure era.