MRDC - Mineral Resources Development Company: Trustee of the People's Resources of Papua New Guinea

Friday 5th November 2010: Port Moresby, NCD

MINERAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LAUNCHES ITS UPGRADED WEBSITE

Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) Ltd today launched its upgraded website http://www.mrdc.com.pg as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to keep the landowners and investors informed of what the company is doing. The launch of the website is also in line with being more transparent on how landowners’ funds derived from mining and petroleum projects are managed and being accountable to the project affected landowners and the provincial governments. The website has been made user friendly and will feature many new pages that were not featured in the previous website created in 1997.

Among the main features will be the MRDC Investment Portfolio page where viewers can see details of how investments have been made by MRDC on behalf of its subsidiary companies and also the Subsidiaries Page where all the companies managed by MRDC in the mining and petroleum project areas are listed along with their company profiles. A separate page has also been created to showcase the many community support programs and donations undertaken by MRDC and its subsidiary companies. The page will also feature sponsorships and donations made by Directors of subsidiary landowner companies so that landowners in the villages will know how each director spend their Public Relations funds.

MRDC Managing Director Augustine Sanga Mano said so much had happened in the short history of MRDC and it is the responsibility of the company as a good corporate citizen to keep its stakeholders especially the beneficiaries who benefit from the companies managed informed of what MRDC doing and how their companies are managed. “MRDC transformed significantly over the past two years. We are moving away from the traditional distributors of royalty and equity to become active participants in the development of the mining and the hydrocarbon industry,” Mr Mano said. “We want to see landowners continue to receive benefits after the oil wells have emptied or the operating mines have stopped operating. “MRDC just like any other State owned entity, should be proud of its history and this story has to be told to enhance investment and growth in the mining and petroleum business,” Mr Mano said.

“MRDC has done its part in the development of PNG, giving confidence to the financiers and investors to invest in the mining and petroleum industries in the country. “The World Wide Web is playing an important role in the way information is communicated to the masses and at MRDC understands the importance of keeping its beneficiaries and stakeholders informed of what they are doing. “We invested in this state–of–the-art tool to be accessible by national and international stakeholders.

“The website will also enhance information dissemination to the investors who will feel secured when they are spending their millions and billions of kina in our country and they know that their investments are safe.”