Nautilus: Solwara 1 plan poses ‘less danger’

By MALUM NALU

Nautilus Minerals PNG country manager Mel Togolo says the company’s first project at Solwara 1, in the Bismarck Sea of PNG, will have minimal impact on the environment, The National reports.

 He said it was now “all systems go” with Nautilus having acquired all of its required permits including environmental permit in 2009,  mining lease granted in January 2011 for a deposit covering 59 square kilometres, and production set to begin next year.

Togolo...all systems go with Nautilus

 Togolo told a mining and petroleum workshop for PNG media last Friday that Nautilus had a “very strong story” on environmental and social matters at Solwara 1, where it would be mining for gold and copper,

 “Firstly, you need to recognise that at Solwara 1, the natural environment at depth is naturally turbid because we have black smokers emitting plumes into the water,” he said.

Location of Solwara 1 project, located in the Bismarck Sea at a depth of 1,600m.-Picture courtesy of NAUTILUS

“A few kilometres away we have an active sub-sea volcano which is putting large quantities of plumes into the water column.

 “Our operations will therefore have minimal impact on this natural environment.

 “We’re not dealing with pristine clear waters here.

 “You also need to note that this is very high grade material.

 “That high grade also means that we can be quite surgical in the way we develop these deposits, so that the environmental impacts are minimal.

 “At our first project, at Solwara 1, we will be mining a total surface area of approximately 0.11 square kilometres. 

 Togolo said land-based mines, working at lower grades, typically had to move large amounts of material to make the economics work.

 “These deposits sit essentially exposed on the sea floor,” he said,

 “There is no stripping and therefore no waste.

 “We will not be processing any of the material at the site, so there are no tailings.

 “We have designed our processes so all of the impacts are close to the seafloor.

 “We have no emissions in the top level of the water column which harbours most of the fish life.

 “We operate 30km from land, so we have no direct landowner interests.

 “And we are working constantly with local communities and the scientific community to ensure that we are doing this in a very responsible way.

 “After all, we are building an operation that we expect will be producing for 20 years or more.”

Ok Tedi Mining Ltd plans to extend mine life

By MALUM NALU

Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) – one of PNG’s biggest revenue earners - is in the process of undertaking a feasibility study to extend mine life as an alternative to closure, The National reports.

This was confirmed by OTML general manager - government and external relations, Musje Werror, at a mining and petroleum workshop for PNG media at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby last Friday.

Werror…confirms mine life extension

 The study is expected to be completed by next month (June) with parliament to enact what is known as the 10^th Supplementary Agreement (10SA) in 2013 to extend mine life.

OTML is planning for an orderly closure of the current mine in 2013, however, management considers this to be an opportunity to extend mine life by another seven years from 2015 to 2022 by a combination of two underground mines and one open pit operation.

Any decision to extend the closure of Ok Tedi to 2022 requires the approval of the state and the informed consent of the communities that are impacted by the existence of the mine.

This message is now being disseminated to local communities from the community mine continuation agreement (CMCA) regions, state authorities as well as political leaders of the province.

OTML’s workforce and other stakeholders are also being kept informed of developments relating to possible extension of mine life.

Werror said the goal of mine life extension (MLE) was “to provide detailed information to the mine-affected communities so that they can make an informed decision to either support mine life extension or insist on its closure”.

OTML is now carrying out the massive task of MLE consultation and consent in nine CMCA regions, 156 villages, over 100,000 people and covering 800km of Western province.

The three-tier consultation structure involves villages, regions and delegates with external facilitators Tanorama, independent observers, and an independent reviewer.

OTML says on its website that mine life extension will produce an estimated 90 million tonnes of ore containing close to 700,000 tonnes of copper and 2.3 million ounces of gold over the extension period.

“The mine will be a lot smaller in size to the current operations,” it says,

“Ok Tedi’s current annual copper and gold production is 160,000 tonnes and 540,000 ounces gold respectively.

“The most significant impact will be the requirement for disposal of an estimated 280 million tonnes of waste rock and tailing from open cut mining and mill processing.

“Mine extension will generate K3 billion in state revenues (dividends, taxes, royalties).

“Other benefits include extended lease payments, a level of on-going compensation and tax credit infrastructure and maintenance of social services for the people of North Fly and the rest of Western province.

Additional dividends will also flow to PNG Sustainable Development Program Ltd.

In Port Moresby today: Sunday, May 20, 2012

The good, the bad and the ugly of Port Moresby as seen through my camera lens.
Enjoy, and may these pictures inspire you to make our capital city a better place for all of us to live in.

Along the Baruni back road towards town this morning.-All pictures@MALUM NALU

View from Baruni back road

Potholes galore along the Baruni back road

Heading back from Motukea Island

Trucks heading to the LNG project

Baruni back road heading towards Gerehu

Baruni back road heading towards Gerehu

Baruni back road heading towards Gerehu

Do we have a government to patch up the Baruni back road?

Look at this pothole along the Baruni back road!

Top dog on the Baruni back road!

Along the Baruni back road

Heading towards Gerehu along the Baruni back road

Luxury apartments being built along the back road

Ladies under a shady need tree along the back road

Market at the settlement past the National Research Institute

Gerehu roundabout

Looking towards Gerehu from the roundabout

Driving past University of PNG

Driving past UPNG

Roundabout at the Institute of Public Administration

Across from the IPA is the burnt-our remain of this car

At Waigani!

The shame of Baruni Dump

By MALUM NALU

Our politicians continue to lie to the whole world that there is no poverty in PNG.
 Get real guys walk the streets of any of our major towns and cities, see the beggars, scavenging the streets for food, living out of cardboard boxes. 
Three years ago, in February 2009, I took a French journalist and an Australian photographer to the Baruni Dump in Port Moresby, and they were moved to tears to see school-aged children looking for scrap of food among the tonnes of rubbish. 
Three years on, children do not go to school because their parents can’t afford school fees, people die because they can’t event afford the hospital fee, while our politicians can fly to Singapore when they have a small headache.
The Baruni Dump is not too far away from the multi-billion dollar LNG project, however, it's a whole world away.
Here are some pictures of the Baruni Dump I took this morning.

Baruni Dump

Baruni Dump

Baruni Dump

Baruni Dump

Baruni Dump

Mother and child foraging in the Baruni Dump

Baruni Dump

Mother and child with a bilum bag in search of water

Roadside shack

A humble Baruni Dump abode

Makeshift church at Baruni Dump

Roadside stall

Baruni Dump road

Young men in a roadside shack

Simberi stakeholders praise landmark meeting

All key stakeholders in the Simberi gold mine in New Ireland province have agreed to move forward in a spirit of co-operation and open communication, following a landmark meeting held in Kavieng.

The meeting, attended by representatives from the national government, provincial government, local level government, landowners and the mine operator Allied Gold Plc, has been heralded as the start of a new era for the project.

The quarterly review meeting heard reports from the company on the progress of the mine, its management of environmental impacts, plans for future development and sharing of benefits from the operation.

The meeting chairman, acting secretary of the Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazards Management, Shadrach Himata, said he was very encouraged by the positive spirit of the participants and he congratulated Allied Gold on the progress it had made.

“This is an important project for PNG and New Ireland in particular, and I am most encouraged to see the open communication and process of dialogue that has been established over the last two days of discussions,” he said.

“I believe that all of the participants were impressed with the work that Allied Gold has done, particularly in environmental management, and in the development of medical and health services. “And we welcome the company’s commitment to expand its plans for development of sustainable community businesses flowing from the operation of the mine.”

Landowner representative Henry Salin said he was very pleased with the company’s operation of the Simberi mine.

“The company has done all that is required of it, and stakeholders were reassured, and in some cases surprised, to see the excellent progress that has been made and the high standards of management. "That is why we are standing firmly behind the company. 

"This meeting provided an important opportunity for all landowners to have an input into the development of the mine, and to have their voices heard."

He was joined by the vice chairman of the Simberi Mine Area Association, Vincent Maris, who said the meeting created a strong platform for the future and represented an excellent start for further dialogue. 

“We look forward to working with all the stakeholders to maximise the value of this operation for the people of Simberi,” he said.

Aisoli Topu, second secretary to the Mining Minister Byron Chan, congratulated the attendees for their constructive contributions. 

 “We have built a solid foundation now for the stakeholders in Simberi to move forward in a spirit of partnership,” he said.

Acting New Ireland provincial government administrator Monovi Amani said the meeting had opened a new page of understanding for the Simberi project.

“This meeting has been long overdue, and I am very pleased that we have broken down the walls together, and we are starting to speak to each other face to face,” he said.

Allied Gold General Manager of the Simberi mine, Peter Du Plessis, said the company was grateful for the participation of all levels of government. 

“We look forward to continuing to communicate in an open, honest way with all the stakeholders so we can create a common understanding of the issues.

“The Simberi mine is progressing well with its planned expansion, which will deliver higher production leading to increased royalties and benefits for all stakeholders. 

"We are grateful for the support of all levels of government and landowners in the ongoing development of Simberi, and we look forward to continued discussion and open communication with all stakeholders,” he said.

Taiwanese company aims to light up PNG

By MALUM NALU
 

A leading Taiwanese company aims to light up PNG with its range of innovative and affordable solar power products, especially after hearing from PNG Power that only 12% of people here have access to electricity, The National reports.

Speedtech, a leading electrical component company in the ITC field, wants to supply solar power products to rural PNG as well as urban areas, and has gone as far as meeting with PNG Power to discuss this

It is well aware that rural PNG, with all its abundant sunlight, does not have rural electricity after more than 36 years of independence and wants to offer a solution to this.

General manager Lucas Chiu and his sales manager Salam Lin are in Port Moresby on a five-day trip to survey the market before a major exhibition in September.

Chiu shows an example of a solar-powered portable light.-Nationalpic by MALUM NALU

The company supplies products such as solar panels, solar power plants, solar home systems, solar street lights, solar garden lights, solar portable lighting, solar bus stop and advertising billboards, solar water pumps, and light emitting diode (LED lighting).

The company already has an agent here in Sky Light Ltd.

“We believe solar power is the answer to PNG’s electricity needs,” Chiu told The National after giving a demonstration of his products.

“You have everything here to supply solar power.

“This is also clean energy.

“We think there is a lot of potential here for our products to help the people of PNG.”

He added: “The purpose of this trip is to identify and evaluate the environment in PNG.

“In September, we will be back and bring back new products.

“We will have a major exhibition here.”

Speedtech already supplies solar power products to many countries around the world, including the Pacific.