Solwara 1 concerns New Ireland community

 A NEW Ireland community living in Lae is concerned with the Solwara 1 sea-bed mining project.

The group said there was no information about the effects of mining under the sea or the impact reports.

The New Irelanders of Morobe (NIOM), which includes New Ireland Students’ and Staff Association (NISSA) of the University of Technology and its committee, have unanimously agreed to take a stand to stop the operation of the Solwara 1. They claimed that considering pre-mining activities and the social and environmental impacts, the mining company Nautilus and the Government had not provided information or protected the rights of the people to impose a social licence.

They also claimed that communities and families living within the mining area such as Dampet, Messi- Labu, Kontu, Lamasalang and east coast villages were not made fully of the returns and long-term negative effects. The group claimed to have had a series of meetings in 2012 and last year to discuss the mine which saw a lot of the people asking the government to stop to its operation.

 NIOM president Gerard Soncl said: “At the end of last year the students conducted awareness in consultation with the New Ireland provincial government and administration on whether people were given full information of the positive and negative impacts of the operation.