No permit issued to dredge mouth of Fly River, Tuke says

THE Mineral Resources Authority has not given any permit or license to dredge the mouth of the Fly River, says Mining Minister Johnson Tuke.
Kandep MP Alfred Manase asked him in Parliament whether a permit had been issued to the Hong Kong Finance Commercial Group Ltd to dredge the mouth of the Fly River and ship sediments to Hong Kong.
Tuke said no permit had been issued because there was no policy on the mining of limestone, quarries and sand.
“I have instructed my department to develop a new policy for sand and mineral including quarries,” Tuke said.
Manase said sediments at the mouth of the Fly River which had built up from mine waste from the Ok Tedi Mining Ltd were rich in minerals.
The Hong Kong Finance Commercial Group Limited is expected to clear out the sediments which it will ship to Hong Kong. Environment and Conservation Minister Wera Mori had told parliament earlier that any commercial arrangements on the sediments would have to be done with the OTLM. “If there is going to be any commercial indications, that is something the Western government can take up with the management of Ok Tedi which is covered under the Ok Tedi supplementary agreement and deliberate with,” Mori said.