Ramu NiCo staff and Landowners of the mine’s refinery site at Basamuk in Raicoast in Madang can now check their bank account balances, deposit and withdraw funds with the installation of the new BSP agent in the area.

Ramu NiCo and BSP in Madang had planned to bring banking services to more than 5, 000 people in that particular area and they successfully launched the new banking facility through the Makosi Trading in Basamuk on 29 June, 2026 in a colorful ceremony witnessed by a large crown outside the refinery site.

Community Affairs General Manager for Ramu NiCo Eric Kuman said the company’s Community Affairs team in Basamuk under the leadership of Superintendent Morris Kaupa made a collaborative approach with a retail store owner Joe Gawa operating under Mokosi Trading to accommodate the BSP Agent banking service.

Mr Kuman thanked Basamuk people for giving their land for Ramu NiCo to operate on.

He said it was seasonal where new political leaders were voted into parliament every election year but not delivering tangible services people needed.

Mr Kuman told Basamuk people that giving their land to a mining company like Ramu NiCo was the right approach because every year they receive royalty and land compensations including spinoffs and other benefits which the government cannot give them in time.

He said to compliment the benefits company has been giving to the Basamuk people, it brought BSP into the area so that landowners of the refinery can bank and save their monies.

Ramu NiCo’s Basamuk refinery deputy operation manager Ken Knox said Ramu NiCo is pleased to see the important facility there which would directly benefit the staff of Ramu NiCo and the people of Basamuk.

“Today’s achievement is a result of many people working together for a shared purpose,” he said.

“On behalf of Ramu NiCo, I would like to commend BSP for extending its banking services to rural communities,” Mr Knox said.

BSP Madang Branch manageress Jean Joel said the launching of the new BSP Agent at Basamuk was not just another corporate milestone for BSP but it was a celebration of partnership, progress and community empowerment.

Ms Joel said financial freedom should not be a luxury for people living in towns and cities but every hard working citizen, every local business house and every community member has to have access to save funds.

“Today we are making it a reality here in Basamuk,”Ms Joel said.

She said people usually spend more on travelling to town to use the banking services and sometimes they encounter sea tragedies including piracies but with the Mokosi BSP Agent, people living in Basamuk and other surrounding areas can now easily access the banking services without risking their lives and also save travel costs.

Meanwhile Mr Kuman was the first BSP customer to do the first deposit transaction using the new Mokosi BSP Agent and after him, many Ramu NiCo staff and locals stood in the que to use the new banking service.