"PNG opposition grows to dumping mine waste at sea", 9 September 2020

Opposition to the disposal of mining waste in the ocean is growing in Papua New Guinea's Morobe province.

Companies behind the proposed Wafi-Golpu gold and copper mine near Lae plan to pump mine tailings into the Huon Gulf, a process they call Deep Sea Tailings Displacement (DSTD).

The former governor of Papua New Guinea's Morobe province, Keely Naru [said that] the mining companies behind the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture, Harmony of South Africa and Newcrest from Australia, should be required to ship the tailings back to their countries of origin.

The current governor, Ginson Saonu, has also voiced his opposition to submarine tailings disposal, asking [...] why a traditional tailings dam could not be built on land.

Loop PNG reported the minister, Wera Mori, saying the area was prone to earthquakes and heavy rain that could break a tailings dam, making that option a "recipe for disaster".

Mori sited the collapse of the Ok Tedi tailings dam in Wetern Province in 1984, warning of similarities between the two areas.

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Newcrest described the Western Huon Gulf as a "highly suitable environment" for tailings storage as "it hosts a deep canyon leading to a very deep oceanic basin".

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