via PNG MIne Watch

The Constitution and Law Reform Commission has published an Issues Paper on Environmental and Mining Laws Relating to Management and Disposal of Tailings by the mining industry in PNG.

Download your copy below.

Any interested persons or organizations are invited to provide a submission or comments on the Issues Paper before the deadline of 30 September 2013.

Papua New Guinea is one of the few countries in the world that still allows the dumping of toxic mine tailings into its rivers and oceans.

This is despite the appalling environmental disasters this dumping has caused at Ok Tedi, Panguna, Porgera, Misima and Tolakuma… etc.

As the Minister for Justice explains in his introduction, the Issues Paper was commissioned in response to:

• the various concerns and comments raised by indigenous Papua New Guineans living within mine tailings disposal areas, including waterways and coastal areas over mining waste management and disposal into the environment and the consequential harm to the environment;
• recent concerns and reports on the high toxicity levels of hazardous chemicals and heavy metal traces which have been found to occur in the sample of population in mining waste disposal areas; and
• the need to systematically and properly consider these concerns and the need to take corrective measure should these concerns be found to be so;

The reference to the Law Reform Commission to prepare the Issues Paper was originally made in July 2007 – almost 6 years ago.