THE two legacy issues at Papua New Guinea's Porgera gold mine in Enga are the relocation of the affected landowners and the environmental impacts of mining activities, according to the operator.
Barrick Gold Corporation president and chief executive officer Mark Bristow, pictured, during his visit to the country last week, said they had received complaints about relocation.
“To relocate, you need land. To have land, you need to have access to land and we can’t do it,” he said.
“So it is in the hands of the State and the provincial government to work with us to to relocate those people that have been impacted by our operations and we recognise that.”
Bristow said the same goes with the environment.
“The environment is always an emotional issue and we as miners have a responsibility here,” he said.
“At the same time, we are in the part of the world where there’s a high level of seismicity (earthquakes and tremors), there’s always landslides, because it’s a dynamic geology. So you can’t impound the tailings that come from our processing like you would anywhere else in the world because you create an added liability because if it collapses in an earthquake, then that would really damage the environment and put peoples’ lives at risk.”
Bristow said the mine was placing tailings back in the underground mine.
“So as we mine it, we park the tailings back, we process the tailings, neutralise all the chemicals and we pump it back into the mine,” Bristow said. The National
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Barrick Gold Corporation president and chief executive officer Mark Bristow, pictured, during his visit to the country last week, said they had received complaints about relocation.
“To relocate, you need land. To have land, you need to have access to land and we can’t do it,” he said.
“So it is in the hands of the State and the provincial government to work with us to to relocate those people that have been impacted by our operations and we recognise that.”Bristow said the same goes with the environment.
“The environment is always an emotional issue and we as miners have a responsibility here,” he said.
“At the same time, we are in the part of the world where there’s a high level of seismicity (earthquakes and tremors), there’s always landslides, because it’s a dynamic geology. So you can’t impound the tailings that come from our processing like you would anywhere else in the world because you create an added liability because if it collapses in an earthquake, then that would really damage the environment and put peoples’ lives at risk.”
Bristow said the mine was placing tailings back in the underground mine.
“So as we mine it, we park the tailings back, we process the tailings, neutralise all the chemicals and we pump it back into the mine,” Bristow said. The National
Next :