PNGBLOGS

by CYRIL GARE When the Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft touched down on Lihir airport on Aug 9, 2015 I couldn’t believe that this rich gold mining township airport runaway is bare soil, sending clouds of dust backwards as we taxi in to park at the small terminal nearby. For a first timer, first impression counts. The miner is not serious in sealing the runway. ‘They’re here to get and get out’. The ring road around the airport parameters are bare soil. Even Camp 1 and 2 which houses the official residence of the Newcrest Mining Limited (NML) general manager, Craig Jetson is bare soil causing dust everywhere each time a vehicle passes through. Parts of Lihir Island have sealed roads and permanent houses because of mining benefits except the West Coast where almost nothing is there; roads are neglected for years, people leave in traditional hamlets and evidence of neglect are sporadic. But thanks to the missions especially the Catholic Church for being there with them and providing basic

AAP Climate change expert Ross Garnaut has defended the decision of mining companieswith which he has been involved to use a controversial method of releasing mining waste into rivers and the ocean in Papua New Guinea. Professor Garnaut, who conducted the Rudd government's 2008 climate-change review, was the chairman of Lihir Gold, a mining company taken over by Newcrest Gold last month. He is also a director of OK Tedi Mining Limited, another company that operates in PNG. Last week the ABC's 7.30 Report aired a report about Lihir and OK Tedi's practice of using deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) at two separate mines. The Lihir project, under Newcrest, is set to produce 1 million ounces of gold a year on Lihir Island, 900 kilometres north of Port Moresby. OK Tedi extracts copper, gold and silver from its remote Star Mountains operation in PNG's Western Province. According to the ABC report, OK Tedi discharges 56 million tonnes of metalliferous waste into local river sy

AAP Climate change expert Ross Garnaut has defended the decision of mining companieswith which he has been involved to use a controversial method of releasing mining waste into rivers and the ocean in Papua New Guinea. Professor Garnaut, who conducted the Rudd government's 2008 climate-change review, was the chairman of Lihir Gold, a mining company taken over by Newcrest Gold last month. He is also a director of OK Tedi Mining Limited, another company that operates in PNG. Last week the ABC's 7.30 Report aired a report about Lihir and OK Tedi's practice of using deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) at two separate mines. The Lihir project, under Newcrest, is set to produce 1 million ounces of gold a year on Lihir Island, 900 kilometres north of Port Moresby. OK Tedi extracts copper, gold and silver from its remote Star Mountains operation in PNG's Western Province. According to the ABC report, OK Tedi discharges 56 million tonnes of metalliferous waste into local river sy