The 2026 CANCONEX and Resources Week in Port Moresby delivered a successful turnout for Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited as the mine had a chance to present the Nickel and Cobalt Mines two programs that will bring long-term benefits to the mine’s landowners after the lifespan of the mine in Madang Province.
Last week’s Resource Week Programme helped paint Ramu NiCo’s commitment to advancing its step to bettering the lives of its project community through sustainable and economic empowerment.
Ramu NiCo Community Affairs Department Superintendent Mr. Kuipa Tonny showed the mine’s progress on equipping communities along the project footprint at the mine site, the Inland Pipeline, the Coastal Pipeline and the Refinery at Basamuk.
Mr. Kuipa, during his presentation, highlighted the two major programs that are currently being introduced through the Community Affairs Department:
- Cocoa Seed Bank Nursery Program
- Community Learning Centre / Infrastructure for Sustainable Development for Village Illiterate Women and Girls ( Coastal Pipeline Landowner Women’s Association )
The two new programs were a commitment for the mine to fully equip its landowners and that can be passed from generation to generation after the lifespan of the mine.
Mr. Kuipa said the Community Affairs Office of the Mines has been working closely with government departments such as the PNG Cocoa Board of PNG, Madang Provincial Government, and Provincial Cocoa Board, as well as the 3 landowner associations (Kurumbukari, Inland and Coastal Pipeline, and also the Coastal Pipeline Landowner Women’s Association) of the mine to deliver the Cocoa Program.
“We have also been working closely with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Madang Province, such as the Talibic Technical Vocational School, to rollout program for illiterate women and girls to learn how to sew, cook & bake, floriculture, and other for local economic sustainability,” Kuipa said.
He said since the inception in 2006 and after full production in 2012, Ramu NiCo has been carrying out many programs. However, the Cocoa Program and Community Learning Centre Initiative were recognised as both economically friendly to local villagers along the project to farm cocoa and also learn how to do other trainings that can be a second form of income apart from farming.
Apart from conveying economic and financial independence for communities along the project’s footprint, the mine has also delivered countless infrastructure developments such as classrooms, teacher houses, medical aid posts, and spin-off business to landowners since the inception of the mine and this will continue into the future of the Ramu Nickel and Cobalt project landowners in Madang Province.
