MRA denies claim that Ok Tedi conducts alluvial mining

THE Mineral Resources Authority says the State-owned mine in Western does not operate an alluvial dredging operation at Bige.
Managing director Jerry Garry was responding to speculations that the Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) had been illegally conducting alluvial mining at its Bige operations.
According to its annual report last year, OTML said the dredging removed around 10 million cubic metres per annum of sediments comprising sand, tailings and waste rock fines for placement in engineered stockpiles and rehabilitated.
“As part of the mine waste tailings project, OTML separates sulphides (pyrite) from the tailings prior to tailings discharge to reduce the long-term impact on the river system,” the report said.
“The pyrite concentrate produced is piped 125km to storage pits on the West Bank at Bige where it is permanently stored sub-aqueously and then covered with non-acid forming sands dredged from the river.
“Since the Bige operations began in 1997, OTML has rehabilitated 131 hectares of land by planting 161,242 different seedlings of trees.”