Court stops firm from exploring minerals

By GABRIEL LAHOC
A COMPANY keen on exploring and extracting chromites from the remote Morobe coastal community of Lababia has been accused by landowners of by-passing relevant government authorities.
They have now taken the company to court.
The company, Katana Iron, and Sione Gwae, a community elder they negotiated with, will have to explain their actions to the Lae district court on Feb 21.
The Areme clan in Lababia, represented by clan elder Steven Nasa, filed the complaint against them in court after noticing that normal procedures had not been followed.
They were aiming to extract resources on their land without any government involvement.
According to court documents, the company entered into negotiations and was in the process of conducting development and exploration on the Areme clan’s customary land covering the Siai River.
The Lae district court ordered that while the matter was being determined, Sione Gwae and Katana Iron should refrain from:
l Engaging in any exploration;
l Engaging in any development; and
l Negotiating or dealing directly with Gwae and the Lababia community.
Magistrate Ngasiling Bingtau ordered all parties involved in the case to engage in a roundtable discussion to resolve the matter which has divided the community.
Nasa, seeing that all other friendly approaches had been exhausted, approached the district, which summoned Gwae as the community chairman and the company.
Nasa said the clan’s customary land awarded to them in 1978 by the district land court was incorporated in June 2006.
“Any dealings regarding our land should be with us and nobody else because this land is not owned by Sione Gwae and is not owned by the Lababia community,” he said.
“This land is owned by my clan and my clan alone.”
Huon district administrator Tony Ase confirmed that relevant government agencies were not consulted and he found the actions of the company very disturbing.
“I am not happy with this.
“I should know of every development that happens in the district and must be part of the development process.
“This is not right,” Ase said.
The Areme clan  wants the defendants to obtain approval from the clan, Huon Gulf district administrator, Huon district patrol officer and the provincial lands and mines division, as they were the avenues and processes that were not adhered to by the defendants.