A senior business leader in Papua New Guinea says dividends from the Ok Tedi mine will be used to benefit more than 50,000 landowners in Western Province.
Last week the province's governor claimed no money from the mine had reached locals.
The chief executive of the PNG Sustainable Development Programme Robert Igara, says the mine operators plan to work with businesses, churches, NGOs and others.
Mr Igara says the projects supported by the programme have to show a benefit to the people of PNG.
He says money won't go straight to landowners, but they'll benefit indirectly.
Western Province governor Dr Bob Danaya last week said the Sustainable Development Company was supposed to be used to compensate his people for the environmental damage caused by the mine.
Dr Danaya said none of these funds had been received by the landowners and he accused the development programme of being a "fake company".
