Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Madang's 2nd tailings pipe
Yandera developer looks at disposal options
By SINCLAIRE SOLOMON
THE developer of Madang’s second biggest mine is considering a deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) system – similar to the one which has landed the Ramu nickel project developer, Ramu NiCo, in court and further delayed construction of its refinery in Basamuk in Madang’s Astrolabe Bay, The National reports.
Australian-based Marengo Mining Ltd has selected a site not too far from the Ramu NiCo’s refinery and planned DSTP system construction which had been put on hold following an interim injunction taken by a group of landowners who claimed the system would be environmentally damaging.
Marengo is developing the Yandera copper-molybdenum-gold prospect in the Bismarck Range
Managing director Les Emery confirmed the DSTP proposal yesterday but also pointed out that “a number of tailings disposal methods would continue to be evaluated”.
The DSTP plans were highlighted in Marengo’s June quarter report which was released last Friday.
Three key tailings management possibilities had been identified: a tailings storage facility (TSF) within the Ramu Valley
Interestingly, Marengo engaged Coffey Natural Systems of Australia, the same company engaged by Ramu NiCo for its environmental management and deep sea tailings placement study.
“The Ramu valley is the preferred site to establish a TSF because of the flatter terrain, lower drainage management requirements and geotechnical aspects.
“Additional studies would be conducted to determine if it would be necessary to implement the DSTP within the initial 10-year operating life.”
“Oceanographic testing equipment was deployed into Astrolabe Bay , on the north coast of PNG , in an area selected as a potential location for deep seas tailings placement (DSTP).
“This testing is part of comprehensive baseline study activity, required to be carried out before any development and environmental permit is made.
“Prior to the deployment of the oceanographic equipment, public awareness meetings were held at nearby villages.
“These meetings were a great success and will set the foundation for similar meetings, as other activities are undertaken.”
Emery did not specifically answer questions on whether Marengo was following the Ramu NiCo court case and its eventual outcome to decide whether to proceed with the DSTP system.
However, he told The National that the system was included in its definitive feasibility study (DFS) into the development of the Yandera project which was scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
Emery said that during the course of the study, many aspects of proposed mining operations had been considered as part of developing a long life mining operation which would benefit all stakeholders.
“To achieve this outcome, we continue to consider the various components, their suitability of application to the project, their effect on the environment and communities, and their economic viability.
“A number of tailings disposal methods continue to be evaluated, including that of DSTP for the safe storage of inert process tailings, after recovery of sulphide concentrates.
“Land-based tailing storage methods are also being evaluated and the final decision as to what will be included in the mining approval applications will be made early next year.”
He said that based on a the DFS completion date, securing of project financing and permitting approvals the US$1.6 billion Yandera project could be in full production by 2014.
On the other hand, the US$1.37 billion Ramu nickel project was scheduled to be commissioned later this year.
Road works not delivering
By STEPHANIE ELIZAH
PARTICIPANTS at a field staff conference in
Works regional and provincial managers, civil engineers and staff were also warned that unless drastic measures were instituted, the situation would not improve and the ensuing effects would not only be detrimental to the industry but to the future development of PNG.
Northern-Islands regional works manager Brian Alois highlighted this during his presentation on “managing the effects of competing priorities and the struggling road construction industry” at a week-long conference which ends on Thursday.
“There is already sufficient evidence to show that the road construction industry is failing in more ways than one and, we (DoW ) as the mandated implementation agency, has not been able to discreetly contain the situation,” he stated.
Alois added that the cost to carry out road projects had increased 10 times in the last 16 years, for instance, to upgrade and seal a kilometre of road in 1994 was about K100,000 but will now cost about K1 million.
All these, he said, was having an adverse effect in the drawdown of the national transport development plan (NTDP).
“In the next couple of years, NTDP will be reviewed and, when it takes place, a greater number of the 16 roads which are listed as priorities, would retain their status and the non-priority roads will remain non-priority for another period of time,” he argued.
These 16 roads, Alois added, accounted for 4,217km out of the 9,328.5km of national roads which “is really an unfair distribution of service”.
“So, if the NTDP focuses on 4,217km of road, it is actually serving 870,000 people out of the 6.73 million which clearly indicates that we are not getting it right,” he said.
Alois challenged field staff to provide solutions to the effects as the best way to manage a problem.
Price rise hits families
By BOSORINA ROBBY
A RISE in the price of goods and services in the country has many families trimming their costs, paying more attention to their food budget, and asking if the government is going to do something about inflation, The National reports.
Figures for the June quarter, released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), showed a rise in consumer price index (CPI), both headline and underlying.
The CPI measures price change across a range of goods and services, and generally tells you the spending pattern of the population in PNG’s urban centres.
The NSO figures show that the prices of goods and services have been rising steadily since the 2009 December quarter in the major centres of the country.
These include the price of food items, tobacco and betelnut, clothing, rent, fuel and power.
In the June quarter, the CPI rose by 1.6%, compared to 1.4% in the March quarter of this year. But this varied depending on which urban center you are in.
The CPI change for
Food prices grew by 2.4%, while rent, fuel and power charges were higher at 3%.
For a teacher who was out shopping at Stop N Shop in Waigani yesterday with his three children, the inflation is biting in.
The family buys food stuff in bulk to save.
The father said they live at Rainbow and they preferred Stop N Shop because the prices were within their range. A 10kg Roots Rice they were after was going for K37.80, which he said was cheaper than at other shops.
He explained why he shopped where food prices were cheap.
“This way, I can budget for fuel for my car to pick up and drop off of my kids at school and to at least save some money because I am a teacher and we don’t get that much every fortnight,” he said.
Wages for teachers differ, depending on their levels and where they teach. A national high school teacher might gross of K800-K900 fortnightly while an elementary teacher would be around K300.
If housing is not provided, their salaries obviously cannot pay the rents on offer in
A number of respondents to an online survey done yesterday by The National blamed the LNG project for the inflation.
All complained of a strain on their pay packet.
A female respondent said that even though she was single, she had to cut down on some of her habits and stick to her budget so that her pay could last.
She has also taken to setting up small business ventures like selling betelnut to supplement her income.
One father said that the traditional obligatory responsibilities of the Melanesian family also put the strain on families.
“Non-compliance of obligatory responsibilities have soured relations, while those who comply in fear of stigma find themselves driven further and further into debt,” he said.
Another, who resides in a settlement in the city, said that with the much publicised LNG project and its benefits which are still to felt, vendors, wholesalers and suppliers were increasing their produce because they think that there was enough money floating around to pay for the high cost of food and other stuffs.
He said that at the moment, garden foods at the markets cost almost the same as those in the shops.
“A bunch of banana is
Monday, August 16, 2010
Literacy training for churches and women's groups
From BRUCE COPELAND
Dear friends,
In recent months, I have returned to designing study material to teach reading to the grassroots
literacy programmes are poorly done in this country.
These rely too much on the skill of the teacher. Many teachers in NGOs and churches lack the skill. A resource book is needed.
The best approach is to prepare short stories about people. That is the basis of a programme I am preparing for a church. When we do this we can tell stories for the learner to read, ask questions for the learner to read and have the learner write answers. The learner is gaining skill in written language.
Then we can take the learner through the basics of the language very quickly. Our stories can be designed to repeat all the basics. A teacher has the task to take the learners through the stories over the time of the course.
We can use the stories to introduce issues that can be discussed while the learner is reading. Issues can be on health, growing up, marriage, violence, parenting, HIV/AIDS, relationships and nutrition.
Learners are getting two courses in one. The book below has been prepared with 30 stories. It is for a literacy programme based on Tok Pisin. Basics are repeated story by story but the level of difficulty rises story by story.
I would be happy to show any women’s group or church an effective way to conduct literacy training in English or Tok Pisin.
Letter to the editor on Outcome Based Education
From BRUCE COPELAND
I write in response to a letter to the editor of The National newspaper of
She wrote in support of Outcome Based Education (OBE) stating that she had checked results in a number of local schools to find that the standard of English
is rising. This is good to hear.
Ms McManus also wrote to explain what OBE is. She explained that it did not involve the mere regurgitation of facts but required students to think, research,
interpret and analyse.
This is an important direction for education. That is where the validity of what she is saying stops dead. The local schools in
with middle-class children enrolled.
Many would have had educated parents who speak English and who have daily access to TV, DVD movies in English, books, newspapers and understanding of
how to succeed.
They would have educated opinions on many issues and a background knowledge
of the world.
Ms McManus may well have come to
She has to understand that there is another world out there of primary and secondary schools where education is in total poverty. Schools have no electricity which deprives them of TV, computers and photo copy machines.
Schools have access only to a duplicating machine which severely limits quality and range of material given to students, provided the school has funds for ink and paper.
Students come from villages where people do not speak English and do nothing to promote educational success of the children. Girls come home from school to work. Boys come home to swim, fish and throw stones. There is no reinforcement of school in the village.
Teachers have no choice but to conduct classes from the blackboard. Students copy the work into their books. The top percentage of rural children go on to high school.
It is only fair that they are not discriminated against. So they may go off to high school with the capacity to use 100 English words and to understand 200 more.
Many can not understand what is spoken in class and written in books. In library lessons they just stare at a page and turn the page if they see a teacher watching.
They hide their lack of skill by copying what is on the blackboard into their books. Some hide down in the gardens during tests. They are culled at the end of grades 6 and 8. I personally experienced this in three Morobe rural high schools
In many schools, there is an anti-antellectual culture among students in the middle grades, the more gifted students have to study quietly and not contribute in class for fear of being intimidated by the less clever students. They know they have to shut up and let the teacher do all the talking.
Thank you to Ms McManus for your input. I sincerely wish you well in your effort to help OBE at least in the middle-class schools of PNG.
Regards,
Bruce Copeland BA BEdSt
Community service for teachers, journalists and students
From BRUCE COPELAND
Dear friends,
It would be useful if
We are long distant members of the
brought French words based on Latin. So English double-dipped into Latin. Australians brought English to PNG.
Let us explore a selection of Latin roots. We have a new way of looking at English. There are not just thousands of words. There are dozens of word groupings.
It would be good if the roots of words were returned to the class room. Students would enter a new world of language.
Ago (actus) – I do.
agent, act, actor, react, reagent, agile,
Ameas (amat) – Love, happy
amorous, amicable, amamas (tok pisin), amour (French) amo (Italian), amiable.
Aves –the birds
Aviation, aviary,
Cado ( cassus) – I fall
accident, cadence, cascade, decay, decadent, decadence.
Capio (captus) – I take
Capture, captive, captivate, escape, captivity
Caput – the head.
Cap, captain (English), Kapitano (Italian), Kapitain (Spanish)
capital, caption, decapitate, recapitulate.
Cedo (cessus) - I go
Proceed, procession, recede, recession, concede, concession
intercede, intercession, cede, cession, precede, precedent.
Centum – a hundred
Century, cent, centurion,
Cor – the heart
Cordial, core, Coeur (French), courage, courageous, courtesy,
Sacre Coeur ( French Catholic) Cor blimey ( English slang)
Corpus – the body
Corporal, corpse, corpulent, corporation. Corps,
(Italian)
Curro (cursus) – I run
Current, incur, incursion, recur, recurrent, course, cursory, cursive
discourse,
Decius – ten
Decimal, decimate, decade,
Dens (dentis) – a tooth
Dentine, dentist, dental, denture, indent, indentation
Dico ( dictus) – I say
Predict, prediction, indict, indictment, diction, indicate,
indication, dicta-phone, dictionary,
Duco (ductus) – I lead
Duct, viaduct, oviduct, conduct, conductor, conduction
Duce ( Italian), reduce, reduction, deduce, deduction,
produce, product, production, introduce, introduction.
Facio ( factus) – I make
Factory, manufacture, facile,
Fero ( latus) - I bear
Refer, transfer, confer, reference, conference, relate,
translate, translation, collate
Finis – the end
Finish, pinis (tok pisin), finite, infinite, final, finality
Flecto (flectus) I bend
Flexible, inflexible, reflect, reflection, deflect, deflection.
flex, inflexion. reflex
Fort (fortus) – strong
Fort, fortitude, fortissimo ( Italian), Codral Forte
Frango ( fractus) – I break
Fragile, fraction, fracture, fragment
Fundo (fundus) – I pour
Fund, funnel, profound, refund
Ge –the earth
Geology, geography, geophysical,
Gradior – a slope
Grade, gradual, gradient, gradually, degrade,
Homeo – the same
Homo sapiens, homophobia, homosexual, homogeneous
Jacio (jectus) – I throw
Inject, injection, project, projection, projector, reject, rejection
eject, ejection, ejaculate, deject, conjecture, interject, interjection,
Legis – law
Legal, illegal, legislate, legislation, litigation
Lego (lectus) - I gather
Lecture, college, religion, lecturn, collect, collection
Manus – the hand
Manual, manuscript, manage, management
Mater – a mother
Maternal, matron, ma’am, mama,
Pars (partus) – a part
Part, particle, particular, partition, participate, apartment, compartment, repartee.
Pater – a father
Papa, paternal, patron, pastor,
Pleo – I fill
Complement, implement, implementation, supplement
Plico – I fold
Application, apply, reply, imply
Port, report, transport, transportation, import, importation,
export, exportation, deport, deportation, deportee, important.
Premo (pressus) – I press
Press, pressure, express, depress, impresario (Italian) supreme,
Rex (regis) – a rule
Regal, vice-regal, tyrannosaurus rex
Pono (possus) - I place
Postpone, opponent, expose, impose, repose, depose, deposit,
composite, composition,
Scando (scandus) – I climb
Ascend, ascent, descend, descend, scandal
Secto (cidus)_ - I cut or kill
Dissect, dissection, bisect, intersect, intersection, suicide,
genocide, insecticide, spermacide, resection, section, sector,
Scribo ( scriptus) – I write
Describe, description, inscribe, inscription, conscription, scribe
scripture, scribble, prescribe, prescription,
Specio (spectus) I see
Special, specialty, inspect, inspection, respect, spectacles, species,
introspect, introspection
Tenio (tendus) – I hold
Tender, tendon, extend, intend, intention, contend, contention,
pretend, pretension, portend, tension,
Video (vissus) – I see
Video player, DVD, vision, visible, invisible,
Venio – I come
Venture, convene, convention, invent, convent, veni-vidi-vinci
(I came- I saw- I conquered)
Verto (versus) – I turn
Revert, reverse, inverse, converse, convert, conversion, versus
Vinco -_I conquer
Convince, vanquish, invincible, HMS Invincible.
Volvo (volvus) – I roll
Revolve, revolver, Volvo car, involve, revolution, convolution,
convolvulus (flower)
If you are interested in words, please keep these on your computer and run your eye down the list from time to time. I learned these words from Grades 7-12 from 1958 to 1963. I will never forget.
Regards,
Bruce Copeland BA BEdSt
Teacher of English in PNG
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