Villagers suffer burns from mine waste

A MINING company is providing medical assistance to people having skin burns after coming into contact with waste material containing a high proportion of lime.
The Barrick (Niugini) Limited, the operator of the Porgera mine in Enga, said people in two villages had been experiencing skin irritations and minor burns. Executive managing director Richmond Fenn said they received reports on Friday that the affected people had come into contact with mine waste material containing lime – a corrosive substance  – “unlawfully taken from one of the mine’s waste rock facility”.
“We immediately provided medical assistance to those people,” he said.
Fenn said they secured the area containing the lime-bearing material so that it could be safely neutralised.
“We have a medical team working with those affected people,” he said.
“Our environment and safety teams are working with the community to ensure that any remaining hazardous material is safely removed.
“The company noted that it had reported the incident to government authorities and would provide necessary assistance to examine the causes of the incident.”