Mine ‘not completely shut’

Posted on The National

THE management of a mine forced to close last week by the Government for not complying with rules has assured stakeholders it is not completely shut down.
Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd, the multi-million kina nickel and cobalt developer in Madang, said in a statement it was “closed indefinitely to comply with safety matters” but not completely shut down and should be back in operation soon.
The company confirmed that the Mine’s Inspectorate with the Mineral Resources Authority had issued two orders for remedial measures following a slurry spillage on August 24, 2019 and safety issues concerning a contractor.
“On Friday October 18, 2019, MRA issued an instruction for an indefinite shutdown of E143 Neutralisation Tank at Basamuk Refinery, which causes all operation to stop because of its critical importance,” the company statement said.
“Most remedial works have been completed successfully from the remedial measures but MRA is not satisfied with the remedial work done on the critical part of the Basamuk Refinery Operation, E143 Neutralisation Tank.
“The slurry that comes from Kurumbukari mine must go through this tank. And once shut down for remedial work, it inevitably affects our operation. This is the critical area.”
The company said it would work with the MRA and other statutory bodies to ensure all requirements were met to avoid the recurrence of similar safety issues.
“We have committed our time, efforts and resources in ensuring that we comply with all the remedies within the given time. It is normal that we may not have met all MRA’s requirements so we will work closely with MRA to get these done,” Ramu NiCo said. Operation at the Kurumbukari Mine is unaffected and other plants at Basamuk are in operation except for the E143 Neutralisation Tank.


Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/mine-not-completely-shut/

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.”


Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/mine-told-to-close/

PNG to discipline mining companies in breach of mining laws

Posted by PNG Today

Papua New Guinea Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Geoffrey Kama has informed stakeholders that his Ministry and the Department of Environment and Climate Change will strictly follow the existing laws to discipline any mining companies in breach of any laws governing the mining industry and there are no short cuts in shutting down the mines.

Kama said this when meeting with the Basamuk landowners on Sunday last week at Basamuk Refinery in the Rai Coast District of Madang province.

He went to have an independent assessment on the Refinery’s’ Saturday 24 August slurry spill into the Basamuk harbor. His senior officers including Managing Director of CEPA, Gunther Joku and deputy managing director, Michael Maue including Madang Governor Peter Yama accompanied him to Basamuk.

Ramu NiCo President Gao Yongxue and his vice president Wang Baowen received the minister and his delegation in Madang and accompanied them to Basamuk.

This is the second visit of a senior state minister after Mining Minister, Johnson Tuke who visited Basamuk Refinery for an independent assessment on Tuesday 27 August in his capacity as the Mining Minister.

The Environment Ministers visit follows after his chief investigators from CEPA, Lave Michael, Joseph Umare and Robert Sine, Manager Mining with MRA were on the ground at Basamuk on Monday Aug 26 to conduct an investigation into the slurry spill.

Kama told the principal Basamuk landowners that Marape-Stevens government will not go ahead and shut down Ramu NiCo Project or Basamuk Refinery as demanded but will strictly follow the laws so that all parties are given fair treatment.

The minister’s call came after the landowners demanded that Basamuk Refinery be closed following the slurry discharge and other outstanding matters including socio-economic benefits.

Last week, Member for Rai Coast, Peter Sapia, Madang Governor Peter Yama and the landowners demanded for the closure of Ramu NiCo Project.

But Kama said investigation into the alleged slurry spill is still underway by the Mines Inspector and Mines Inspectorate alone has the power to shut down the mine and not him.

Meanwhile, Als Environment Testing Laboratory in Brisbane, Australia will analyse the sea water samples collected from Basamuk Refinery to determine the concentration of heavy metal level in the sea area where the slurry entered after slurry overflow on Saturday 24 August at the refinery.

Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd designated ALS Ltd, an internationally recognised laboratory specialising in environmental analysis services to analyse the samples to give credibility to the final report that will be produced by MRA and CEPA.

Vice president of Ramu NiCo, Wang Baowen said the Australian based company was selected after full consideration was given to accredited laboratories in PNG and abroad.

He said after uncertainties and speculations have been created by various groups, Ramu NiCo wants to put these concerns to rest by results ALS Ltd will provide.

“We understand the concerns of our landowners and the government.

We know many people want to engage their own consultants. The best we can do is engage an independent and credible third party like ALS so we all accept their analysis,” Mr Bao said.

“The inspectors from CEPA and MRA who investigated the incident will separately receive the results and make their own recommendations, off which we will accept and implement as required.”

He said ASL Ltd has branches throughout Australia and its head office in Brisbane where the heavy metal testing will be done and results anticipated for return approximately within two weeks from Friday last week.

“Under CEPA direction, we have collected seawater samples from five different locations, the primary one being the slurry discharging point within the harbor.

Samples collected vary in depth from the surface, including five meters below the surface to enable cross section of sampling to determine concentration of potential heavy metal at different layers of the harbour,” Mr Bao said.

“CEPA and Ramu NiCo will receive the test result directly, although separately from the Brisbane analysis laboratory.

“CEPA and MRA will interpret the analysing result and determine whether there are significant impact on the harbour and surrounds.

Ramu NiCo will also use the result from third party, ASL and Basamuk Central Chemical Laboratory to analyse and report to CEPA and concerned government bodies.’’

He said Ramu NiCo is committed to get to the bottom of the investigation by engaging third parties and the notable laboratory in Australia.

Go to this link for more: https://news.pngfacts.com/2019/09/png-to-discipline-mining-companies-in.html

Chinese-owned nickel plant spills waste into Papua New Guinea bay

By Melanie Burton and Tom Daly - Reuters

Waste from a nickel plant in Papua New Guinea owned by Metallurgical Corporation of China spilled into the adjacent Basamuk Bay over the weekend, three sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Locals noticed red discharge clouding parts of the bay that is next to the Ramu Nickel plant in Madang, Papua New Guinea, a local indigenous person who took photographs of the spillage told Reuters. The man declined to be identified because of the topic’s sensitivity.

The head of Papua New Guinea’s Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) said that its officials, as well as those from PNG’s Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), had put together a preliminary report on the incident.

“MRA Mines Inspectors and CEPA Scientists have been at the site since last Monday to conduct investigations,” MRA Managing Director Jerry Garry told Reuters. He was unable to immediately offer additional details.

MCC, a unit of MinMetals, built and operates the plant, which produces nickel sulfate that is sent to China to the battery industry for electric vehicles.

MCC did not respond immediately to an official request for comment.

Nickel sulfate is increasingly used in batteries for electric vehicles as the world transitions to a greener and less polluting economy.

However, investors concerned with responsible sourcing have demanded greater sustainability in procurement and along the supply chain.

A source close to MCC said the incident did not have any adverse impact on the environment.

“There is no impact on marine life and fish. The mining and environment ministry went there but both found no problem,” the source said.

“There is no need to say anything about this. It was a small accident. There was a little leak … but it has no effect on the environment.”

However, Madang Governor Peter Yama called the Basamuk Bay slurry spillage “the worst environmental disaster in PNG history,” according to a report by the country’s Post-Courier newspaper on Monday.

He called for the government to immediately close down the project for its “poor environmental record,” the report said.

Yama also said that the plant’s mining license expired in April, the Post-Courier reported.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has vowed since he came into power in May to reap more benefits for the impoverished nation from its huge oil, gas and mineral resources partly through mining license renegotiations.

The person who shared the pictures of the spill alleged that the nickel sulfate plant, which disposes of its treated mine waste by pumping them through a pipe into the deep ocean waters, has “destroyed many species of fishes and reefs” since starting up in 2012.

“That’s why as local traditional landowner citizen, I’m very concerned and have ill feelings to this developer and the government of PNG,” the person said.

Ramu produced a record 35,355 tonnes of nickel and 3,275 tonnes of cobalt in concentrate according to Canada-listed Cobalt 27 Capital which holds an 8.6% stake in the operation, and rights to some supply. The company’s Managing Director Anthony Milewski declined to comment on the incident.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/chinese-owned-nickel-plant-spills-waste-into-papua-new-guinea-bay/

Rai Coast MP Calls for closure of PNG’s Ramu Nickel Mine

NBC News / PNG Facts 

Member for Rai-Coast in Madang Province Peter Sapia is calling for the immediate closure of the Ramu Nickel Mine's Basamuk refinery.

Mr. Sapia's calls follow several images which went viral on social media Facebook, showing the sea's color turning a different shade of red, brown and orange.

He says this is clearly a breach of the company's environmental permit and therefore they shouldn't be allowed to operate there anymore.

Mr. Sapia who directed his question to Minister for Environment of Conservation Geoffrey Kama today in Parliament says as local MP, he wants the Government to go back to the table and negotiate the future of the mine.

“Mr. Speaker according to the Ramu Nickel environment plan, the tailings waste will be processed properly before being discharged into the sea and that there will be zero leakage or spillage.

“I have already engaged an independent mining expert to be on site to conduct a quick inspection which I will present next week.

"Mr. Speaker environmental plans are presented to the Conservation Environment and Protection Authority before any environmental permit is granted to any mine to operate.

“Ramu Nickel has now breached the environmental permit and therefore cannot operate anymore – profit must not be prioritized at the expense of the environment,” Mr. Sapia said.

Meantime Environment and Conservation Minister Geoffrey Kama in response, says he has engaged specialists working in the Department of Mining and they are in the area currently assessing the situation.

Mr. Kama says the suspected spill occurred on Saturday 24th August.

“Em spill tasol, long graun na wara mix I kam em spill na igo insait.”

"Nau ol lain i wok long em I stap.

"They will give me back the report and I am scheduled to go there next Monday.

Mi go long hap na taim mipla i lukim situation em i bagarap, yes bai umi pasim displa main.

"Tasol bai umi lukim ripot na bai umi toktok, mi hamamas olsem man I gat pawa long pasim – Chief Mine Inspector em I stap pinis long hap wantaim olgeta staff blong mi.

“So I kam bek na I go olsem wanem, bai mi kambek na toksave gen,” Kama i tok.

In November 2018, the landowners petitioned the National Government to 'stop the K5 billion project extension-' it is unclear what has become of that petition.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/29/rai-coast-mp-calls-for-closure-of-pngs-ramu-nickel-mine/

Marape Backs Moratorium, Leans Towards Ban On Experimental Seabed Mining

By Matthew Vari - Post Courier 

Prime Minister James Marape has indicated he will support a proposed regional moratorium on seabed mining, however, could not go as far as to say a ban outright would be needed.

In an interview with the Post-Courier at the opening ceremony of the Pacific Islands Forum on Tuesday, Mr Marape responded when asked in relation to Fiji’s stance on the matter, that he would support the move, making specific reference to what he described the Nautilus Solwara 1 project as “a total failure”.

During Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s opening remarks at the Sautalaga climate update meet on Monday, he informed leaders present of Fiji introducing its own climate change act, of which the country will push an ambitious proposal for both its national and a regional moratorium on seabed mining.

“I ask you all to join in this ambitious venture and also support a 10 year moratorium on seabed mining from 2020 to 2030 which would allow for a decade of proper scientific research of our economic zone and territorial waters,” Mr Bainimarama said.

Sentiments supported by James Marape regarding the proven viability of deep sea mining, which he said is not yet a proven concept. “As a nation we have lost over K300 million in a concept of deep sea mining.

“Until that deep sea mining technology is environmentally sound and takes care of our environment at the same time we mine it, then at this point in time, I support the call made by the Fijian Prime Minister, we just need to have the best technology available,” Mr Marape sternly said.

When asked if it could go as far as supporting a ban, the Prime Minister left this option out adding just as the moratorium aims to prove the viability- that process will prove “on a case by case basis going into the future”.

“If there is an opportunity for deep sea mining, so long as environmentally it is friendly and the harvest of resource is done in a sustainable manner then we can give considerations to this, but right now it is a show.

“We don’t have the luxury of that informed decisional research.

“This is because that technology is not proven anywhere and PNG we burnt almost K300 million in that Nautilus (Solwara) 1 project on a concept that someone told us it can work, but it is a concept that is a total failure as I speak,” the PM said.

Apart from 15 per cent state investment in the project, Kumul Mineral Holdings is also seeking redress for the unearned revenue to the tune of US$51 million (K173m).

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/08/15/marape-backs-moratorium-leans-towards-ban-on-experimental-seabed-mining/

PNG mines minister shot at in Port Moresby

Posted on Radio New Zealand

Papua New Guinea's Minister for Mining Johnson Tuke has revealed he was shot at last week in Port Moresby.

The Post Courier reports that the incident occurred after a National Executive Council meeting in the PNG capital, and that the MP narrowly missed being hit.

Mr Tuke said he was driving to his office, turning off a main road around Two-Mile Hill, when a group of four men suddenly turned on him.

He said that as he quickly reversed, one of the men shot at him, with the bullet smashing through his vehicle's front headlight, before he sped away.

According to the minister, two of the men had factory-made guns and the other two had bush-knives.

Mr Tuke said he was unable to state whether the shooting was politically motivated or whether it was just a random shooting.

But he has called on the government to take action to boost law and order mechanisms to counter criminality in the capital.

He also asked for his office and staff to be re-located, explaining that his officers have experienced such attacks before in this location.

Go to this link for more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/396666/png-mines-minister-shot-at-in-port-moresby?fbclid=IwAR2gGv07YnPFeO2GGNSSjU6biEV84UDNZL89EbJ7hl7XDi828hVK5TPka_I

Huge loss at mine

By CLARISSA MOI - Posted on The National

ILLEGAL mining activities at the Porgera gold mine in Enga is costing the operator around K4.5 million a month, it has been revealed.
Barrick Gold Corporation president and chief executive officer Mark Bristow attributed the loss in revenue to “the traditional environment where the mine operates”.
“We deal with social crisis almost every day in Porgera,” Bristow said.
“So K4.5 million a month. Just think about it. That could be going to the community,” he said.
“Porgera is a critical component not only on the country’s revenue to date but because it’s real and it’s happening every day.
“It is a very important engine in the part of Papua New Guinea which is traditionally volatile.”
He estimates a loss of between US$800 million and USS1.5 billion (K2.65 billion and K5 billion) from the illegal activity.
He said Porgera was a large contributor to the Engan provincial economy and the PNG treasury.
“From the revenue created by Porgera, 48 per cent of every kina arrived either in the provincial purse, the national treasury purse, with the provincial governor or the landowners,” he said.
“And 52 per cent has arrived in the hands of the investors who continue to reinvest the money.”
Bristow said Porgera was one of the largest employers in the country with 3,100 workers, 1,000 of whom were from the Porgera region.
He said 900 employees were given opportunities to study overseas.
Meanwhile, acting managing director of the Mineral Resources Authority Philip Samar said earlier the Government was committed to addressing the issue of illegal mining at Porgera.
He was responding to concerns raised by the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) that there had been a huge increase in the number of illegal miners who had access to the stockpiles and open pit area, putting their own lives and the lives of company employees at risk.
The activities resulted in the loss of lives and injuries to illegal miners and employees.
A team of government officials, including Mineral Resources Authority officers, were sent to the mine site to reassess the illegal mining situation.
He said the situation had escalated “such that the normal daily mine operations are being significantly hindered and the mine is not able to operate at its full production capacity”.
“Barrick has approached the Government to urgently provide assistance in resolving this law and order issue so that the mine can continue its normal operations,” he said.
“The company is concerned that at the rate and the manner at which illegal miners were operating, the mine could face serious problems including shutting down operations.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/huge-loss-at-mine/

Cancel all seabed mining licences

By PNG Council of Churches | Voice of Milne Bay | Alliance of Solwara Warriors | Bismarck Ramu Group | Centre for Environmental Law and Community Rights

Dear Hon. Prime Minister,

Congratulations on your recent election as the new leader of Papua New Guinea and for the establishment of your new cabinet! This fills our hearts with hope for a better future. 

We, the PNG Council of Churches, Voice of Milne Bay, Alliance of Solwara Warriors, Bismarck Ramu Group and the Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights, would like to draw your attention to the issue of deep sea mining in our Bismarck and Solomon Seas.

We stand with the communities of the West Coast of New Ireland Province, Duke of York Islands, East New Britain, Madang, Manus and Milne Bay Provinces who oppose sea bed mining under the Alliance of Solwara Warriors. 

Together we call on the Papua New Guinean Government to cancel all Nautilus Minerals’ deep sea exploration licences, mining leases, and environment permits.

Our communities already face many unsustainable developments impacting our lands, oceans, lives, and livelihoods. This includes mining, logging, and oil palm operations. The risks and uncertainties of experimental seabed mining are too great to allow this industry to ever proceed in Papua New Guinea.

We have our own economies and natural resources to sustain and support our daily survival. We ask our government to invest in these.

Our coastal communities have always been connected with our seas. The sea is central to identity, livelihoods and culture practices. It cannot be separated. 

We simply do not want Seabed Mining in PNG’s Waters.

The former government made a bad investment decision by buying into Nautilus Minerals. Our country and ordinary citizens are paying the price. The $US120m equity, a loan from BSP, that the Government invested in the Solwara 1 project could have been used for medical supplies, education, and much-needed infrastructure. 

Nautilus Minerals is currently seeking protection for alleged bankruptcy and is re-arranging its affairs to protect the interests of its officers and two major shareholders. It seems like the company is not considering the impact on its shareholders which includes the PNG government.

We look to your leadership to ban seabed mining in our country and to use our nation’s funds wisely.

Therefore, we call on the new Papua New Guinea Government to:

1. Terminate the Solwara 1 mining lease and environmental permit, and all of Nautilus Minerals’ exploration licences

2. Demonstrate that it has learnt from the very costly mistakes of the former Government of purchasing a 15% stake in Nautilus Minerals and commit to:

a. Never taking up a stake in any deep sea mining venture in the future;

b. Not issuing any more exploration licences or mining leases for deep sea mining; and

c. Providing real and lasting support to communities right across Papua New Guinea by assisting thriving artisanal fisheries, growing the fledgling ocean based eco-tourism sector, and funding communications and transport infrastructure, education and health services. 

We anticipate your favourable response, and we thank you and wish all God’s blessings on your efforts as our new leader.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/06/29/cancel-all-seabed-mining-licences/

Papua New Guinea treasurer calls for more benefits from LNG, mining projects

By Sonali Paul | Reuters 

Papua New Guinea’s new treasurer on Wednesday put Total SA, Exxon Mobil Corp , Newcrest Mining and their partners on notice that the country wants to extract more benefits from their gas and mining projects.

Treasurer Sam Basil said the country also needs better forecasts from Exxon and Total on the expected income flow from a $13 billion plan to double the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Basil was appointed earlier this month by Prime Minister James Marape, who led a revolt against former prime minister Peter O’Neill in May.

France’s Total is leading the Papua LNG project, which will develop the Elk-Antelope gas fields to feed two new LNG production units to be sited at the PNG LNG plant, run by Exxon.

At the same time, Exxon and its partners plan to add a third new unit at PNG LNG, which will partly be fed by another new field, P’nyang.

Total recently reached an agreement with the government setting terms for its Papua LNG project, while Exxon is in the process of negotiating a separate agreement with the government for P’nyang.

Treasurer Basil said the projects should all be treated as one, rather than “under the cloak of separate joint ventures”.

“I am putting each of the project partners in all of these projects on notice that the concerns of our people must be addressed through dialogue and negotiations with the state and that we expect all parties to contribute to a fair and equitable outcome,” he said.

Exxon’s original $19 billion PNG LNG project is the biggest foreign investment in the country and crucial to the economy, but the plant has been a disappointing contributor since it started exporting LNG in 2014.

Last year’s earthquake which forced a shutdown of PNG LNG dented the government’s take from the project more than Exxon had expected it would. The 2019 budget had assumed that oil and gas sector revenue would fall by 9.4 pct from 2018, but it actually fell by 16.4 percent, Basil said.

He plans to ask the Treasury and Exxon to come up with new detailed forecasts of future cash flows from the project to the national and provincial governments and local landowners.

He also said the government would put on hold talks with the owners of the Wafi Golpu gold project, Newcrest and South Africa’s Harmony Gold, until the state negotiating team has talked to the Morobe provincial government about its aspirations for the project.

“Our future prosperity depends on delivering these projects and delivering them well. But we must now find a way to ensure that these major resource project agreements capture enough value to the state and to our people,” he said.

Exxon and Total were not immediately available to comment. Newcrest had no immediate comment.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/06/27/papua-new-guinea-treasurer-calls-for-more-benefits-from-lng-mining-projects/

Top Lawyer Queries ABG’s Interpretation Of Mining Act

Posted by Post Courier 

One of the world’s leading mining lawyers, Michael Hunt, an advisor to the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowners Association (SMLOLA), has issued a stinging attack on the statement which attempted to justify the proposed changes to the Bougainville Mining Act (BMA).

The changes were rejected by the Bougainville Parliamentary Committee on Legislation last week (read the full legal assessment).

This statement was a submission to that committee lodged by Minister Wilson and was published on June 19, 2019.

Mr Hunt said, the Statement, entitled “Interpreting Part 17 of the BMA”, “pretends to explain the Bougainville Mining Act (Amendment) Bill 2019 (Bill) in laymen’s terms but in reality, it is a false and misleading manifesto riddled with errors.”

Mr Hunt categorically confirmed that the proposed amendments would actually abolish all of the landowners’ rights relating to any application by the company 40% of which will be owned by McGlinn’s Caballus Mining and other foreign investors.

He added that all the provisions in Parts 1 to Part 16 of the BMA which protect the rights of landowners are over-ridden by the stroke of a pen in Part A of the Bill.

The confiscation of the landowners’ property and rights under the Bill is “unreasonable, unfair and unconstitutional.” said Mr Hunt in his formal legal opinion.

Mr Hunt confirmed the view previously expressed by SMLOLA: that the Bill “effectively confers a near monopoly on one company over exploration and mining on Bougainville”.

Mr Miriori, the Chairman of the SMLOLA further questioned how it was possible that they got the interpretation of the amending legislation so grossly incorrect?

“Why was Parliament misled? Something profoundly wrong is going on here,” he added.

The Parliamentary Committee reported that the normal practices and safeguards were sidestepped.

Mr Hunt is an Australian legal practitioner, who has written the authoritative book, Mining Law in Western Australia (the fifth edition of which was published in October 2015), the “Energy and Resources” volume of Halsbury’s Laws of Australia and the book Minerals and Petroleum Laws of Australia.

Mr Hunt has been recognised nationally and internationally as a leading mining lawyer, regularly named as such in legal market surveys. He was named in both Chambers Global Guide and Chambers Asia Pacific, putting him amongst the world’s top mining lawyers. Chambers’ review reports: “Michael Hunt is regarded as Western Australia’s pre-eminent expert on mining law.”

In 1987 he conducted a public inquiry into PNG’s mining laws on a commission from the PNG government. His comprehensive recommendations for reform were incorporated into entirely new mining legislation, the Mining Act 1992. The BMA is obviously based in part on the PNG Mining Act 1992.

Go to this link for more: https://ramumine.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/top-lawyer-queries-abgs-interpretation-of-mining-act/