Highlands Pacific proposes to dump up to 150 million tonnes of mine waste into Astrolabe Bay, in north-east Papua New Guinea. The waters are home to double the variety of coral species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The region also supports a 400-million dollar tuna fishing industry.
Reporter John Bennett has obtained access to a review of the operation, which is yet to be made public. In it leading Australian scientists dispute many of Highlands Pacific's assertions about environmental safety.
Greens Senator Bob Brown says "It makes you feel ashamed to be an Australian... we have ministers saying well there's two standards here."
Australian company Rio Tinto has been mining an island volcano in PNG using the same pipeline disposal method. The Rio Tinto mine has been backed with Australian taxpayers' money, for risk insurance, since opening in 1996.
Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill says "We don't apply Australian law to that support. We encourage Australian miners to adopt Australian standards."
That's Dateline, this Wednesday June 27 at 8.30 pm.
** BACKGROUND FROM MPI **
Last month, MPI co-hosted an International Conference on the Ocean Dumping of Mine Waste (Submarine Tailings Disposal - known as STD) in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The conference brought together respected scientists, NGO representatives, government officials and affected community members from across the globe. It revealed scientific inaccuracies, threats to marine resources, negative health impacts and devastation of coastal economies.
The conference concluded with a resounding rejection of STD as a method of mine waste disposal.
The mining industry does not have the science to back up its claims that STD is environmentally safe. In fact there is strong evidence to the contrary at STD mines in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Tailings from the Misima mine in PNG have smothered the ocean floor over an area of approximately 20 square kilometres.
In Indonesia, two mine sites are already using Submarine Tailings Disposal, causing serious health impacts, suffering and loss of livelihood to the local fishing communities. To add insult to injury, the waste pipes have failed on several occasions and spilled their toxic contents onto the land and into the sea. Despite this, the mining industry is currently trying to open dozens of STD mines across the Asia Pacific Region.
Companies like Rio Tinto are not permitted to practice STD in their home countries. Instead they cynically exploit the people and resources of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which have less rigorous environmental regulations.
The conference concluded with a declaration calling for an international ban on STD, and demanding that mining companies accept liability for the impacts of this environmentally and socially destructive practice on coastal communities.
For more info on STD, Contact MPI on +61 (0)2 9387 5540 or visit our website at http://www.mpi.org.au/std/
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