Mine told to close

By JEFFREY ELAPA - The National

THE Government has closed down the processing plant of the multi-billion kina Ramu nickel mine in Madang for “violating mining and safety standards”.
Mining Minister Johnson Tuke also warned other mines in the country to follow the law.
He said the processing plant shut down its operation as ordered on Monday.
“Safety cannot be compromised as it deals with lives and safety of the people,” Tuke said.
“Therefore the company was ordered to cease operations because it failed to adequately rectify defects recommended during the investigation by the (mining) inspectorate into the incident that resulted in the spillage of slurry into the sea on August 24.”
The operation shutdown is for an indefinite period. It is only for the processing plant but it inevitably affects the entire operation.
The US$2.1billion (about K6.5 bil) Ramu nickel project near Madang is rated one of the largest and most ambitious mining and processing projects to have been successfully brought into production in PNG.
The Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) said the China-owned Ramu nickel and cobalt mine had violated mining and safety standards of operations.
Its managing director Jerry Garry and Chief Mining Inspector Lave Michael were with Tuke during the announcement of the closure.
Garry said the MRA was responsible for safety and had nothing to do with environmental issues relating to mining which was the responsibility of the Conservation Environment Protection Authority.
Michael said following the slurry spillage on Aug 24, the mining inspectorate from MRA went to Madang and Basamuk to investigate. It found that the mine lacked safety standards posing risk to lives.
The defects identified included the “incompetency of the operator, inadequate bund capacity, inadequate spillage containment system and inadequate maintenance of instrumentation and machines”.
He said they issued 16 remedial action items and advised the company to address them. But after six weeks, the company did not carry them out.
In response to the shutdown of operations, the mine management said as a responsible investor in PNG, they would try their best to comply with all the laws that govern their operation in the mining industry.
“The mine inspectors are on the ground at Basamuk for inspection so upon their instruction, Ramu Nico will make its official comments if need be. Now we respect their inspection until further notice. We are also working closely with MRA and CEPA and other statutory bodies to ensure we do not breach any laws.”


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