The Pacific Network on Globalisation or PANG says a Papua New Guinea Petroleum Conference in Sydney this week is encouraging investment in destruction.
PANG's coordinator, Maureen Penjueli, says the conference will likely result in new deals between the government and international mining companies.
Ms Penjueli says mining in PNG has been highly destructive, ruining entire ecosystems and wiping out resources and cultures.
She says some deals are made without the consent of customary land owners, and money made from them is unlikely to return to the community.
"The consequences of mining have to be weighed against the whole push of how people benefit. I think the question of benefit is wide open right now because really, it hasn't translated into real, meaningful benefit for people."
Maureen Penjueli of the Pacific Network on Globalisation
