Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

PNG call for new assessment of Watut river system pollution

Posted at 07:37 on 09 July, 2009 UTC

An MP from Papua New Guinea’s Morobe Province says he will push for an independent assessment of the damage from sedimentation caused by the Morobe Mining Joint Venture.

Soil being cleared away from the Hidden Valley Gold Mine has ended up in the Watut river system, causing significant problems for the people living off it.

The project management has admitted that there has been far higher than expected sedimentation.

Responding to mounting local concerns, the operator, Harmony Gold and Newcrest Mining, has commissioned a study to determine the extent of the problems.

However MP Sam Basil says the problem calls for an independent assessment.

“We cannot rely alone on the company’s own assessment because the MRA [Mineral Resources Authority] and the Mining Department and the provincial government are not interested in doing another check and balance on having their own reports done up. Therefore I will help my people in doing our own independent assessment.”

Sam Basil