Mori wants sediments removed

The National Main Stories

SEDIMENTS building up at the mouth of the Fly River in Western need to be cleaned up as they are harmful to the marine ecosystem, according to Environment and Conservation Minister Wera Mori.
He said this could be clearly seen from satellite images where the Ok Tedi River sediments affected the Fly River system.
At present, the Ok Tedi Mining Ltd spends US$80 million (K273.3 million) annually for its dredging operation at Bige.
“Sixty per cent of the sedimentation during floods and others overtake the Ok Tedi (Mining Ltd)’s dredging operation at Bige and flood the Fly River system,” he said.
“It has the potential to affect the reef systems and even food gardens and livelihoods of the Middle Fly River people.
“Therefore, I have considered a proposal to clean up the Fly River system by an independent contractor called Hong Kong Finance Commercial Group Ltd.
“I will require OTML to put in place an environment improvement plan which will involve the contractor to participate in the cleanup of the river system.
“The contractor is currently meeting with OTML,” Mori said.
Mori told The National that the contractor would bear all costs of the cleanup.
“It will ship as it took the sand to Hong Kong.
He said sand dredged from the mouth of Fly River had “no economic value”.
“There is nothing economical in the sand.”

18 comments

  • Is minister Wera Mori in right state of mind or is he been poisioned already by flooded cash from Hongkong? Minister Mori your statement smells fishy here. You are trying to cover up but your statement now confirms and you are telling the nation that you are after something.
    One very simple question to Minister Wera Mori is , if the sand is not economically viable, why is this Hongkong company showing interest to take the sand to Hong Kong? Wera Mori should know very well that no one is that stupid to easily fool and make them to believe his bulshits and lies. Wera Mori has to come out clear and tell the truth about this sand project. Politicians like Wera Mori is trying to play politics on the lives of people for his gain.

    • I can see two main benefits that Hong Kong will benefit from this Dredging exercise. The sediment will contain gold washed down from OTML and deposited on the trenches at the mouth of the the Fly River. OTML cannot process these sediments to remove the gold deposits because it’s uneconomical. Hong Kong need sand (dirt) to backfill land for it’s ever growing population and economy. They barely have space to expand, thus a lot of sky scrappers, even for residential. So I believe what will happen is, they get the dirt for FREE in PNG, then they go process it and remove the Gold, and dump the dirt to expand their land mass.

  • Mr Yomo, your statement is well said and very clear. There’s something wrong with the current Government using Mr Wera Mori as a Minister to speak up.

    Western Provincial authorities and the North Fly LOs should question Mr Wera more on that before the green light.

  • So Mori says the Chinese government has given the ok to dump toxic sand in Hong Kong..? If it is rubbish, than the company would have dumped it along to adjacent areas along the Fly river but alas..wait! Mori’s rubbish smells fishy..! It looks like that sand is is infect gold washed down from Ok Tedi. Haaah Yes! Gold and not rubbish! Say so Mori….! People of PNG are not that stupid for you to brain wash with you canning mouth!

  • So if the sand has no economic value, why then shipping it to Honk Kong. Shipping it to Hong Kong will be an expensive exercise

  • millions will be spent to remove, treat, store and transport the “”SAND””. How will the company recoup its money plus a profit on top(nowadays NOTHING IS FREE), if it is said to be done freely. If the sand has VALUE now in the 21st century, then all the sand in the world will be finished, and hope hongKONG have no sand back at its home soil. Minister Wera we don’t understand your statement and your logic behind this public statement..

  • Jeremiah 17:9 – The Heart of Man is so deceitful and desperately wicked …. and who can know it?

  • What profit driven company in the world will ferry “WASTE” sand many millions of miles to their own country if there is NO monetary value to it??? Come on Wera Mori (GEOLOGIST by profession!!), stop insulting our intelligence!! Everyone knows the Fly River originates from the giant Ok Tedi Copper-Gold Mine, which has been in operation for the last 38 years, and one can imagine the amount of free gold being present in the sediment over all these years of mining. So you are saying its ok to “sell” our valuable sand to the Chinese??

  • Please, in a real business world…it totally does not make any logic. Basically, you spend money to make money in business. Minister no one on earth will come clean your mess for free…incredible!

  • Mani igo mani ikam, thats the reality of life, Why waste resource to dredge and take a ship full of value less sand to Hong Kong ? Common Honorable MP be transparent and tell us the truth.

  • Its a quite a distance between Hong Kong and PNG to ship sand all the way there from here. If Hong Kong needed sand for purposes of building infrastructure, etc., it would have been cheaper for it to look at the closest source of sand than to come all the way here to collect sand and ship it back. There’s definitely something that Mori is not telling us!

  • If there is no “economic value” in the sands, why take it to HK? Minister, you have no place to fool Papua New Guineans. Be true to your people.

  • It’s strange that now all of a sudden fat Mori worries about the eco system and that the reef and sealife might get affected by the sediment. He thinks People depending on the river and the sea might face difficulties? How strange?!?! While regarding Wafi Golpu he said there was nothing to.vevwirried about and that Deep sea tailing wasn’t a risk at all for people and sea life. He is clearly up to something.

  • Wera Mori must know that Fly river mouth is not his back yard in Chuave district. You have done the same to Morobe by bulldozing all the LO’s plea for the deep sea mining waste and now to Western/Gulf province respectively.
    PNG is bigger than your selfless greed and pride. Don’t sell PNG cheaply to the Asian markets.

  • What about the sand? Minister Mori says, “There is nothing economical in the sand.” That’s funny because according to my research, it is a $70 billion industry, with sand selling at up to $90 per 0.76 cubic meter. Don’t try to fool us. we are not illiterate.

  • The best puppet minister ever. Sand, no economical value??? Yet to be shipped to Honk Kong just like that, we wont know what we shipped with the sand to Hong Kong, besides sand can be used of for manufacturing of glass or industrial backfilling of sites, fertilization etc…
    Please minister tinktink na toktok.
    You pairap faul lo case blo Wafi lo approvim DSTP na nau gen lo shippim sand. ‘

  • I refer to independent observer. The okt tedi fly river system has been affected some years ago and where were you minister mori at that time. Nwo you are syaing the eco-system and the marine life might be affected. Stop bullshitting and tell us the truth. Nobody is stupid enough to listen to your great lies. common sense money ya./…money. sapos man givim u money yu nonap sansp na lukluk. quick time tru bai yu tok tenk yu tru.

    Fly rive is not your playing field, people of fly have been patinet enough…somthing blo die ya.

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