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Ban sought on direct disposal of mine
wastes into rivers
THE Government must seriously consider a ban on direct disposal of mine
waste into PNG rivers and oceans, the coordinator of the Centre for
Environmental Research and Development Inc (CERD) Matilda Koma said
yesterday.
Ms Koma and her campaign officer Nanai Puka agreed yesterday that the
issue of pollution in the Auga and Angabanga Rivers is “too late a
story; and water under the bridge”.
“It has been happening. Research and studies have been conducted and
proved that the Auga and Angabanga Rivers are polluted,” Ms Koma said.
They supported the chairman of the Constitutional and Law Reform
Commission Dr Allan Marat’s call for a moratorium on new mine operations
until the issue of tailings dams, clean water and compensation for the
mine affected areas are addressed.
Ms Koma, an environmental scientist by profession, has conducted studies
that confirm that the Auga and Angabanga Rivers are polluted and had
presented them to stakeholders including the department of Mining,
Environment and Conservation, Tolukuma Gold Mine and the Central
provincial government.
Both Ms Koma and Ms Puka said their findings had fallen on deaf ears.
Until today, they have yet to receive a response.
Ms Koma said CERD was an organisation advocating for mine affected
communities (MACs) and the Tolukuma pollution case was an example of
other mines operating within PNG and an issue that needed to be
addressed at the national level.
She said all PNG mines including Ok Tedi, Porgera and Tolukuma and
Freeport in the Indonesian province of Papua were the only mines in the
world that operate without tailings dams.
“Dumping of mine waste into rivers virtually kills all life, smothering
of riverbeds and hence the diverse impact on food chain. The damage is
permanent. Yet, we allow mines operating in PNG to treat our rivers as
their drainage system,” Ms Koma said.
She conducted a study and released a report for NGO Watch Group Inc (NEWG)
in November 2003 titled ‘An assessment of Water Quality in the Auga
River Downstream from the Tolukuma Gold Mine’.
She was also involved in a study sponsored by Oxfam Australia titled
‘Pollution from Tolukuma Gold Mine in the Auga and Angabanga River
System in Papua New Guinea’.
 
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