The K18.4 billion Wafi Golpu Joint venture mining in Morobe province says the Huon Gulf is the “feasible” spot to place the Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) for its mining project because “it is one of the world’s deepest near-coastline marine canyons”.
WGJV reiterated that DSTP is the best available option for its mining operations despite opposition by the Morobe Governor, Ginson Saonu, academics and technical experts.
To support its claims and allaying environmental fears, the WGJV posted a fact sheet and explainer videos on its website arguing that the DSTP technique is the best available option for its mining project.
“The Markham Canyon in the Huon Gulf is one of the world’s deepest near-coastline marine canyons…is an ideal location for DSTP as it forms a continuation of the Markham River and transports significant amounts of natural river sediment into very deep water. The amount of tailings contributed to the Huon Gulf will form less than 20 per cent of the existing natural sedimentation.
“The WGJV has studied tailings management solutions for the Wafi-Golpu Project according to international best practice,’ the report says.
“These studies have been independently verified as being in accordance with appropriate industry professional standards”.
It says the proposal meets standards set out by the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
It adds that PNG’s high rainfall and frequent seismic activity make on-land options more risky.
“The tailings pipeline through Lae poses no specific harm to the community and is similar to the existing buried sewerage and infrastructure pipelines beneath the road network.
“The Markham Canyon does not host high biodiversity or fisheries because of the significant natural sediment transport down this conduit to very deep water, including through regular submarine landslide events that scour the canyon.’
“The EIS (Environmental Impact Studies) predict no effect on the coastal environment, productive surface waters, community health or fisheries. The tailings pipeline through Lae poses no specific harm to the community and is similar to the existing buried sewerage and infrastructure pipelines beneath the road network. The Concentrate Storage Facilitate at the Port of Lae has a purpose-built water treatment plant to achieve PNG water quality criteria at the point of discharge,” the WGJV stated.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Morobe Provincial Government
But the Morobe Governor, Ginson Saonu said that the Government through the Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change, Wera Mori has failed the people of Morobe by ignoring their environmental concerns and granted an environment permit for the WGJV project.
“We are not against the mine. But we reject DSTP. We are convinced that the scientific evidence that points to poisonous and destructive waste being dumped as “red flagged” in the Reviews organized by CEPA (Conservation and Environment Protection Agency) are the correct findings.
‘We do not believe, and do not accept, that the so-called consultations held by or with the people along the coast are representative of persons who truly know the meaning and extent of what the DSTP proposes to do – that is, to poison their livelihood.’
‘Our concerns are not centred on profit. Our concerns arise from the fact that dumping of waste into the Huon Gulf will poison the fisheries.’
Saonu said the Morobe provincial government will challenge the legality of a pipeline to deposit tailings into the Huon Gulf.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………University of Papua New Guinea
Dr. Ralph Mana, an Associate professor of Zoophysiology (how bodily parts of animals function) and senior lecturer at the University of PNG Biological Sciences said WGJV spent K30 million on environment impact assessment plan but did very little on marine studies where tailings and concentrate filtrate water will impact.
“WGJV does not have any substantial baseline data of Huon Gulf. Baseline data is a fundamental requirement for DSTP. Organisms will be destroyed by tailings and filtrate waste water. Monitoring will be impossible if you don’t have baseline data.
“Secondly, major gap in the EIS is the Bathymetry (Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors or lake floors) and uneven characteristics of the slope at Wagang where the pipe will be located.
“The slope is so rough that high density tailings will break into suspension at 300m and continue to do so. Since the Markham canyon is 4-6 km away most tailings will not reach the canyon.
“One fundamental requirement for DSTP is tailings must reach 1000m depth quickly. This is not the case at Wagang,” Dr. Mana said.
He added that from the WGJV DSTP EIS, the model showed that about 60 per cent of tailings will not reach Markham canyon 4-6 km away from pipe orifice.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………University of Technology
Dr. Mana cited further study by Dr. Ora Renagi, currently University of Technology Vice Chancellor who found that 80 per cent of sediments from Markham river are not found in Markham canyon.
“And no one knows where it goes to. So after going thru the EIS, I would confidently say that less than 10 per cent of tailings might find the canyon if at all and the rest will spread in all directions to distances as far as 30km.
“It will be worse than Basamuk because Basamuk canyon directs the tailings to 800-1000m depth. I also delineated the Oceanographic EIS and guess what I found; there are two major currents flowing opposite to each other at DSTP site meaning tailings will be transported in both directions-Salamaua way as well as Finschafen way through Vitiaz strait.
“Despite the information on the sediments loads from the 12 rivers, the exact amount of sediments entering the canyon head is yet to be determined. Over 80 per cent of the sediments that entered the sea are no way to be seen nor in the canyon and the surroundings.
“Study must be done to clarify this disappearance of the huge sediment load that enters the gulf. Therefore it is not true that tailings will flow into the canyon because when it gets into suspension it will follow what the river sediments are doing and that is not to flow into the canyon.
“The Minister has ill-informed the Parliament and the Government. Take home message is Wagang is not a good spot for DSTP. Period”, Dr. Mana said.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Alternative Mine Tailings Waste Management
A PNG engineer, Thompson Benguma of Jatropha Biofuel Industries Corporation Ltd believes there is an option to the much opposed and rejected DSTP technique for the WGJV project.
According to him, there is a new trend in the world towards reprocessing of mine tailings waste to recover precious metal and minerals will remain in the tailing after the chemical extraction process.
He believes transforming the tailings slurry into dry tailings slurry cake material which can be stored on land which is safe and environmentally and socially friendly.
Mr. Benguma said this is a Wafi Golpu Mine Area Landowner sponsored initiative and alternative.
He will be speaking on the subject on the FM100 on Monday, Feb 15 at 9 am.
Has his technology available and tried elsewhere in the world? “Yes”, according to Mr. Benguma. “Due to the situation we are in, we have to do something as Papua New Guineans for our country. Our engineers and scientists are trained to think and solve problems and not to sit back and wait for something to happen”.
——————————————————————————————————————–Critique
A University of Papua New Guinea Chemistry post graduate scholar (named) while agreeing to the mine tailings waste management proposal of Mr. Benguma however, raises concerns about the storage method of the slurry cakes whether it will be above the ground or below ground.
He said isolation of three agents; air, water and bacteria (Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) from the slurry cakes are paramount in this application and if these three agents can be isolated then it will be environment friendly.
He said the technology was developed by Europeans. This alternative waste management technique can be used by mining in Sahara desert and places where there is no rain. Lae annually registers about 3 litres of rain while Tabubil registers about 10 litres of rain. The technology only removes up to 90% water to produce cake and when this cake is left out in the open, especially in Lae, the cake will reabsorbs water again thus producing sulphuric acid which is harmful to the environment and people.
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Newcrest Mining Limited (NML) and Harmony Gold Mining Limited (HGML) each own 50% in the Wafi Golpu Joint Venture, an advanced exploration project, located 65 kilometres South West of Lae city, Morobe province.
The Government granted an Environmental Permit end of January, 2021, a necessary step towards it receiving a special mining licence (SML).
It is highly likely, this project will be further delaid beyond June, 2021 considering upcoming threats of legal challenges.
Picture sourced: wafigolpujv.com