This is a (hopefully) weekly update about events in Porgera. A few caveats: I’m not in Porgera and I’m only relying on my own knowledge of the valley and open sources. I am not a lawyer. I do my best to keep the dates straight but they may get a day off due to my being in a different time zone than Porgera. Thanks to everyone who sent me links and articles. I’m always interested in hearing more about Porgera if you have information to share.
NPL’s socials have announced that the Aumbi Guest House is “anchoring” its National Content plan, I believe because it is a preferred vendor to the mine.
Porgera’s MP, Gidron Karipe, has been posting pictures on FaceBook of the progress being made building the Tipinini-Taiyapoko road and the Porgera-Paiela road. They are behind a login, so I can’t share the links here.
FaceBook posts also recorded the Porgera Cultural Show from 14-16 January at Tipinini primary school.
In bigger news, at the National Frank Kolma reports that there are politics around the Hides gas plant. The idea is that NPL will give the transmission lines that supply it with electricity (and which can be easily damaged to give disgruntled people leverage over the mine) will be given to HTL (Hides Transmission Line) and HPS (Hides Power Station) landowners. “In return, NPL expects to receive social licence from landowners allowing the Porgera mine to operate with no disruption to its power supply.” In return, starting in December 2025, they would receive payments from the mine for the electricity generated. Full details are in the article, but Alfred Andapanga (and perhaps others) is unhappy with the new corporate entities involved: The trust which will hold equity in HTL and HPS (who owns the equity in that trust will determine who gets the money), and the company which will operate and manage the HTL and HPS (which is majority owned by NPL and requires technical expertise). The HTL — and keeping aggrieved landowners from damaging it — has been an important part of the mine’s history, and this is the latest development in that case.
In Barrick news, Helen Cai is the new CFO of the parent company.
In broader Enga news, The front page of the 2 Jan 2026 Post-Courier (and other outlets) announces that “Enga Province is entering a new chapter in its long struggle against lawlessness” because its leaders have united. Historic moments are announced periodically in Enga, and I hope this one is as big as announced, as I’m anti-lawlessness. But we’ll see. Big if true.
Alex Golub 