Mine pit owners hit out at new claimants

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Friday November 8th, 2013

 THE Kimka Sepiyan sub-tribe of Western, which was recently awarded Ok Tedi mine pit royalties backdated to July 2004, is surprised that “paper landowners” have sprung up overnight in light of the ongoing saga between the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program Ltd and the national government.

Chairman David Allolim said yesterday they were the real landowners of the mine pit at Mt Fubilan, unlike the Community Mine Continuation Agreement villages and Ok Tedi Mine Impacted Area Association, but were not seeking to make headlines except to claim what was rightfully theirs.

CMCA villages and OTMIAA have been grabbing the headlines since the PNGSDP and national government standoff. 

“Other ‘paper landowners’ come out in the newspapers,” he said.

‘For mine pit owners, this is our first time to come to the media.”

Ok Tedi Mining Ltd has been ordered by the Kiunga provincial land court to pay mine pit royalties backdated to July 2004 to the Kimka Sepiyans.

The decision was handed down on Sept 20 this year after a court battle that has been going on since 2006,  however, the Kimka Sepiyans are now waiting for its implementation.