Mineral productions to take five years, says Mori
THE Wafi-Golpu mining project will start producing minerals five years after the construction phase, says Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change Wera Mori.
He told the Wafi-Golpu deep sea tailings placement forum in Port Moresby recently, that the method to be used for the copper-gold project would be block caving, or the underground hard rock mining method.
“Upon granting of the special mining lease, it will take at least five years to construct all necessary infrastructure at a cost of around US$5 billion (K17.48bil) before the first ounce of gold and pound of copper are produced,” he said.
Mori said he would grant the Wafi-Golpu joint venture (WGJV) approval for an environment permit following the recommendation of the environment council. The developer needs to meet requirements first.
“The granting of the approval in principle will now pave the way for the State negotiating team and representatives of the Morobe government to start discussions with the developer on a mine development contract,” Mori said.
He has 28 days from Sept 10, the date of the environment council decision, to grant the approval in principle.
“The 28 days lapsed on Wednesday Oct 7.”
Mori said because no formal appeals had been lodged against the council decision during the 28-day period, he was required by law to grant the approval.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister James Marape urged stakeholders to decide the waste disposal method for the Wafi-Golpu project.
He said the project was important to the economy.
4 comments
Did the Minister ask the impacted communities if they wanted to make a formal appeal?
Are all the vlllagers in this remote mine area literate in English?
During COVID-19 restrictions were any of his officers patrolling the villages asking for objections to be FORMALLY made in 4 weeks?
It’ll be like Kapit Bay in Lihir gold mine. Within a mere few months after the gold mine began villagers were told not eat sea products. Buy tin fish!
Another Bougainville crisis in Morobe on the horizen, when Ministers and government push their agendas in bed with the foreign developers.
really sad to see that lessons have not been learnt. The current issues with all major projects like OK Tedi’s environment disaster leaving the comminuties and their environment has not been fully addressed, the government leaving it to the landowners to fight for compensation and rehabilitation of the environment. The signed (Kokopo) agreement for the oil and gas with landowners has landowners still wanting answers. The Pogera mines issues with landowners concern and demands for compensation for environmental destruction is still ongoing. in all these projects the government has rushed to commit itself ignoring the peoples concerns and views and allows itself to succum to foreign parties and corporations devious desire to ‘rob’ our resources by offering pittens to our national coffers. Why or when will the Enviroment minister address (and solve) the outstanding environmental issues of OK Tedi, and the current Pogera issue, before pushing the mining company’s agendas in Morobe.
Another crisis in the horizen, because of selfish sortsightness.
What beneficiary will the impacted communities along our Morobe coastline from Morobe Patrol post to Finchafen be benefit from once the deep sea tailing project is effectively carried out? Can the government made this known to this village folks. I believe they are still in the dark.
We will always be treated as our forefathers during early European colonization days as if our people’s lives are not important and does not matter. Only this time our own people in power are part of this neo-colonial attitude. We have been part of our environment, don’t take that bond away from us.
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