A special PNG Independence anniversary for Newmont’s long serving ‘Mother Mary’

Tuesday, 24 September 2024, 4:41 pm

Mary Simi (right) celebrating PNG’s 49th Independence anniversary with her colleague Jeannette
Joseph (Newmont PNG)

Mother Mary of Newmont Papua New Guinea is among thousands of people who started their PNG independence anniversary celebrations weeks leading up to 16 September.

Mary Simi, known by her colleagues as Mother Mary, Young Mary, and Hahine Korikori [Real or true woman] kicked off independence celebrations when the PNG Hunters won the elimination final in the Queensland Hostplus Cup season –an outstanding achievement after seven years, under the great leadership of first-year Head Coach and former Kumul player Paul Aiton.

The excitement and celebrations continued when she joined thousands of Christians in Port Moresby to welcome His Holiness Pope Francis to the country on Friday, 6 September.

Even more special to Ms Simi was her participation in the Holy mass at the Sir John Guise Stadium on Sunday, 8 September - not just as a committed Christian but also as a talented soprano among 500 choir members who symphonically graced the stadium with their mellifluous voices.

“This year’s PNG Independence anniversary was different in a very special way for me; from cheering our PNG Hunters at the National Football Stadium a week earlier, to worshipping God with His Holiness Pope Francis and other Christians at another stadium – Sir John Guise stadium. Like other footy fanatics, I also felt blessed when our PNG Hunters took down the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the semi-final match in Australia on the same day as the Holy mass.”

“Reflecting on these events, I am reminded of God’s love for PNG, uniting us as a family this year through faith and footy. As a nation, we’ve been through some trying times recently and I feel that these meaningful events brought hope for great things to come,” said softly spoken Ms Simi.

In 1984, Ms Simi led students from Catholic schools to welcome Pope John Paul II to PNG. She was in grade ten at Marianville high school at that time. In 1995, she was an employee of SP Brewery and was among thousands of people who took the streets of Port Moresby to welcome Pope John Paul II during his second visit to PNG.

“Being able to participate in the three-day Papal visit to PNG this year – nearly 30 years after the last visit – and especially a week before PNG’s independence anniversary – was a blessing to me; I shared this memorable experience with my four adult children and six grandchildren,” Ms Simi said.

Ms Simi, born in 1967 and therefore eight years older than Papua New Guinea, hails from Bakoiudu village in Kuni Local Level Government [LLG] and Moroka village in Koirari LLG, Central province.

Her career with the Lihir gold mining operation started in 2002, five years after Lihir’s first gold pour. Ms Simi now leads a team of three people, whose core job is to ensure quality applications for work permits and employment visas are submitted to and endorsed by the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Services Authority [PNG ICSA] before technical specialists outside PNG are hired for any role at the Lihir gold mining operation.

The Lihir operation in New Ireland province has a unique set of challenges primarily linked to its geothermally active mine site and complex processing plant. Often, specialists from abroad are required to provide technical support at Lihir.

“Sometimes, specialized skills are required urgently for unplanned technical issues at Lihir. We try our best during such situations to obtain the necessary work permits and visas to allow technical specialists into PNG immediately because down-time can significantly impact Lihir operation and ultimately impact Lihir’s financial contributions to PNG,” Ms Simi highlighted.

This year marks Ms Simi’s 22nd PNG independence anniversary with Lihir. She described her journey as ‘interesting’, having been through three acquisitions and blessed with many memorable experiences in the mining industry.

Mary Simi (second row, third from right) among her choir mates after the Holy Mass with His
Holiness Pope Francis on 8 September (Newmont PNG)

“Not a day has gone by without learning something new. Our team has always embraced an owner’s mindset; owning every task and doing our best to ensure that work permit and visa applications we submit are transparent and compliant with government requirements,” she said.

Ms Simi is more than just a colleague to her workmates at Newmont, as she is such a cheerful mum figure.

“I call her Young Mary because of her vibrant personality and character. Mary walks around with a heart loaded with sunshine, lighting up every room with her joyful mood and uplifting everyone around her with her infectious laugh and smile,” said Ms Simi’s colleague Jeanette Joseph.

“Her youthful spirit and generous heart are also an inspiration to me and many others. I was empowered recently when learning that Mary’s employment with Lihir is enabling her family to financially support the construction of a Catholic church in her community,” she added.

When asked how she felt about helping her community build a church, Ms Simi teared up and described it as ‘an honor to serve and bless others’. Her employment with Lihir also helped her build her family home, pay for her children’s school fees, and financially support members of her family and community.

In addition to Ms Simi’s PNG independence highlights, she praised PNG Immigration and Citizenship Services Authority for its new web-based application called the Sponsor Portal. The portal was launched in August this year, enabling companies to apply for work permits and employment visas for non-citizens using a single online form.

Ms Simi led her team in successfully registering Newmont subsidiary, Lihir Gold Limited [LGL], on the sponsor portal three weeks before the independence celebrations and the team is now lodging applications through that platform.

“LGL was the first company to register successfully, which enabled us to make our first online lodgement on 27 August. I am happy to still be with Lihir and be part of this improved online lodgement process,” she highlighted.

The Lihir gold mine has been in operation for 27 years of PNG’s independence, currently providing employment for up to 8000 people during the busiest maintenance periods.

Over the last ten years, the mine has contributed to the people and governments of PNG through payments of K3.2 billion in taxes, royalties, and levies. This includes corporate tax payments of K441 million.

Lihir has also supported PNG suppliers and provided training opportunities for thousands of Papua New Guineans.

From January to June this year, Lihir paid K690 million to PNG suppliers, which included K255.5 million to New Ireland suppliers. Over the same six-month period, Lihir contributed K185.2 million in total taxes and levies, K55 million in royalty payments and over K30 million in various payments directly to Lihir landholders.