Enga Province

Enga Province contains Papua New Guinea's gold—the Porgera mine that produces precious metal for export while generating conflict over benefits distribution and environmental impacts. The province also suffered PNG's worst recent natural disaster when a May 2024 landslide buried villages, killing hundreds and demonstrating the hazards that mountainous terrain creates.

Porgera mine's 2019 closure following lease expiration, and 2023 reopening under new arrangements, illustrated how resource extraction negotiations proceed in PNG. The government secured greater ownership stake; affected communities gained recognition; yet 2024 production fell below expectations as the mine operated at lower capacity. Gold's high prices nonetheless contributed to export growth, with gold doubling in value from 2021 to 2024.

The Engan population is PNG's most homogeneous—a single language group occupying highland valleys where population density created pressures that export income has partially relieved. Gold revenue, when distributed, enables purchases impossible from subsistence agriculture alone. When concentrated or captured by elites, it generates grievances that have sometimes exploded in violence.

By 2026, expect Porgera production to continue subject to operational challenges, gold prices to determine revenue flows, and the landslide recovery to proceed slowly in territory where infrastructure barely exists. Enga demonstrates both resource curse dynamics and how extraction revenue can transform highland communities when fairly distributed.