Barrick ready to help stop violence in Porgera

GOLD mine developers Barrick Gold is ready to collaborate with authorities to develop a response to the fighting erupted early last week over old tribal
animosities in Porgera, Enga, a senior company official said.
More than 20 lives have been lost since the mine started 20 years ago, according to local MP Nixon Mangape, a chief landowner of the area. Millions of kina worth of property has also been destroyed.
The latest spate of inter-tribal violence last Tuesday saw two mine employees killed while on their way to work at the mine.
That provoked mine employees to stop work and go on a rampage at the mine after the incident re-ignited a long-running dispute with the developer over the lack of accommodation for them at the mine site.
Barrick executive general manager Greg Walker said last Friday that the company  was ready to assist the government, its employees, community, police and local leaders to develop a response to this problem.
Walker said while the fighting did not directly impact on mining operations, the disruption that “it causes to our employees and the community was a constant and growing concern for the company”.