Ramu NiCo faces contempt

By TODAGIA KELOLA

DEVELOPER of the Ramu Nickel project, Ramu Nico Management (MCC) Ltd has been slapped with a contempt of court.
Principal plaintiff in the legal proceedings challenging the marine waste dumping plans by the Ramu NiCo Management, Louis Medaing has filed contempt proceedings against the mining company for allegedly assaulting, threatening and intimidating the members of the Tong and Ongeg clans that make up the plaintiffs to withdraw from or discontinue the proceedings against the company.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Medaing said he had instructed his lawyers who filed a contempt of court proceeding against the Mining company as of yesterday.
“I instituted the legal proceedings on 24 September 2010 being WS1192 of 2010 to seek a permanent injunction to restrain Ramu Nico Management Ltd from dumping 5 million tonnes of mine waste into Astrolabe Bay annually, on behalf of myself and at this stage 38 members of the Tong and Ongeg clans from the Rai Coast. A further 37 more clan members are seeking to join the proceedings this week. “Since the legal proceedings were filed in the National Court in Madang, my family and clan members have been put under intense pressure by the mine owners, Ramu NiCo Management Ltd to discontinue the court case.” Clan members of Tong and Ongeg who make up the plaintiffs and are not employees of Ramu NiCo Management Ltd have been threatened that unless they withdraw or discontinue the proceedings, all Tong and Ongeg clan members employed by Ramu NiCo Management Ltd will be sacked.
For those members who are employees of Ramu Nico Management Ltd they have been individually told to sign documents to withdraw them from the case, on threat of termination from employment.
Because of this intimidation, he said he has filed an application in the National Court for punishment for contempt of court against Ramu NiCo Management Ltd and its employees namely Jacky Wang and Tonny Nongi including a ward councillor Dongembu Dugai, for assaulting, threatening and intimidating the plaintiffs to withdraw or discontinue the proceedings.

Post Courier 12 October 2010

Ministerial committee on Ramu fails to meet

Source:

By SINCLAIRE SOLOMON

A HIGH-powered ministerial committee, set up four years ago to expedite the K3.2 billion Ramu nickel project in the Bismarck Range of Madang, has never met.
The project, Papua New Guinea’s first nickel and cobalt mine, is already 12 months behind schedule and costing developer Ramu NiCo (MCC) more than K7 million a day.
The committee was set up by a special meeting of the national executive council on April 13, 2006, after ministers were given a background brief of the mining at Kurumbukari in Usino-Bundi electorate and refinery operations at Basamuk Bay in Rai Coast electorate.
Its job was to “oversee and expedite the finalisation and implementation of the Ramu nickel-cobalt project” and be led by the mining minister as chairman. The minister at the time was Michael Ogio.
Other ministers in the committee were from works, national planning and monitoring, labour and industrial relations, foreign affairs and immigration, environment and conservation, lands and physical planning and health.
The fact that its existence was not widely known was evident in labour and industrial relations’ moves last year to remove some Chinese workers from Ramu NiCo for failing to fulfil PNG work permit requirements.
Unbeknownst to the department, the special NEC meeting had also directed the foreign affairs and immigration minister to use his powers under relevant legislation “to give appropriate visas to foreign nationals with relevant qualifications and experience required in the construction and development phase of the project”.
The man responsible for all mining and exploration activities in Madang, John Bivi, last week confirmed the formation of the ministerial committee exclusively for the Ramu nickel project but had not received any correspondence and deliberations to date.
“As far as I know, it has never sat,” Bivi, who heads a one-man provincial mines office, said. “It shows clearly the government’s lack of total commitment to the project which the provincial government fully backs.
“It is another case of too much talk, too much promises and no action to back them up,” he said.
Similarly, a spokesman for Ramu NiCo said at the weekend they were not aware that such a ministerial committee existed.
Ramu NiCo is already locked in a court battle with a group of landowners from the Basamuk Bay area who opposed the company’s deep sea tailings placement system.
The latter has been granted an interim injunction stopping work on the tailings system until the substantive issue is heard by Justice David Cannings in Madang this week.
To add to Ramu NiCo’s woes, the acting chief commissioner of the Land Titles Commission Benedict Batata had refused Madang provincial administration’s request for the special land titles commissioners to resume hearing outstanding Ramu nickel project land disputes.
Bivi said they had been informed by the department of justice and attorney-general that the disputes, being heard by the LTC until the death of its chairman, would be listed as an ordinary application for land tenure conversion to be deliberated on at a later date.
“It is obvious that we have not been supportive of this project from day one,” he said.
Bivi said they had no-ted new Mining Minister John Pundari’s pledge to fast-track the Ramu nickel project, hoping he would revive the ministerial committee and not sit back like his predecessors.

National Newspaper July 16 2010

Barter wants matter settled out of court

As mentioned in the article on Post Courier today (10th August 2010), Sir Peter Barter is appealing to landowners of Raicoast and also the NGO supporting the landowners to reconsider the current court case in place that is preventing the Ramu Nickel Mine from dumping its waste into the sea. He wants this case to be settled out of court. What Sir Barter fails to see is that the people of Raicoast are not against the mine from operating, they are simply against dumping of waste into the sea. The Ramu Nickel Mine simply needs to look for another option of disposing its waste apart from the sea at Astrolabe Bay. What's so hard about this?

Sir Barter goes on to say that the Ramu Nickel Mine has given a tractor worth K40,000 to the Raicoast High School is a start to more benefits coming. I doubt that more benefits will be coming from the Ramu Nickel Mine. The reason why a tractor has been given to the school is basically because of the current court case. If there wasn't a court case, the story will be different.

As a statesman, Sir Barter should know that donating a tractor worth K40,000, building of schools, health clinics as well as all the other benefits that the company will give to the landowners WILL NOT compensate for the loss of the environment and the lives of the people if the company is going to dump its waste into the sea. You will never ever put money value on the loss of the environment simply because there are some physical benefits that people get from their environment as well as spiritual and cultural connections that people have with the environment. It is very difficult to cost this out.

PM Once Again in Madang

It is now the 85th day of the current court injunction by the Raicoast Landowners which is preventing the Ramu Nickel Mine from dumping into the Astrolabe Bay. Because of this court case, the government has been trying desperately to talk to landowners in dropping the court case. The people still remain firm in their position, they simply don't want dumping waste into the sea. Because of this strong resistance from the landowners, the Prime Minister has been making secret trips into the province lately. He is now back in Madang today and is meeting with landowners from Mindire where the Ramu Nickel Mine established its refinery plant. We hope the landowners remain firm in their stand.
One has to be suspicious especially when the PM's frequent trips to Madang this year have mostly been done secretly. Don't be surprise if there is another project coming up in Madang which the landowners don't know of.

Govt and mines urged to look at various options

By HAIVETA KIVIA

A Mechanical engineer in Lae is urging the National Government and mining companies to look at other options when it comes to disposing of mining wastes.
Thompson Benguma, a mechanical engineer, said there was one good alternative the Government and mining companies could adopt and safely dispose of their waste, instead of heavily relying on tailing dams, deep sea tailings disposal and using river systems.
Mr Benguma, who was commissioned by the Startech Environmental Corporation based in Bristol, Connecticut, USA, is asking the Government and mining companies to seriously look into the plasma waste converter technology promoted by a US based company.
He said the technology can be benefit the country in preventing environmental damage, help rebuild the deteriorating roads and give the country an alternative fuel source.
“This technology can also save money for the country and companies,” he said.
Mr Benguma said the plasma waste converter is a steel vessel where the waste, whether it is mining or any waste, is pumped in and is broken down using a process called molecular disassociation, because of an intense field of energy at 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The converter breaks down the molecule bonding of the waste and reforms it again into two by-products. These are synthesis gas, which is rich in carbon and hydrogen, and silicates which are the heavier by-product material,” he said.
Mr Benguma said the hydrogen can be extracted and used as an alternative fuel source by the mining companies and the country in motor vehicles, generators and machineries.
He said the silicates could be crushed and used in building or rebuilding roads in PNG. The silicate is the same kind of material to the lava spewed out by volcanoes.
Mr Benguma said the Government and the Ramu nickel mine should look seriously at this method instead of pumping tailings into the Basamuk Bay. He refuted the statement made by Milne Bay Governor John Crittin that deep sea tailing disposal was safe.
“Mr Crittin can’t compare Misima to Ramu nickel,” he said.
Mr Benguma said Misima was a small scale operation and was already closed but some of its effects were being felt by the islanders, fish were mysteriously dying on the beaches of Misima and he asked the Governor to investigate.

Post Courier, June 18, 2010

Project issue not addressed

The Prime Minister’s visit to Madang to hear grievances from the landowners regarding development of the Ramu nickel project in my view didn’t achieve its purpose.
Most of the issues of concern were not discussed and it seemed that he avoided the mess he and his Government created. The landowners wanted to hear and question him about the amendments to the Environment Act 2000 among other things; however this was not adequately discussed. It was the other way around. He came not to hear… but to tell the people why the project should go ahead and the litany of the so-called benefits it would bring. Much of the time was taken up by the PM telling the audience what it was like during his days travelling around Madang as a teacher. Just a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. All these should have been done way before a mining permit was issued. Why telling us what we already know?

Joxes Madang

Post Courier, June 16 2010

CHINA PROHIBITS DEEPSEA TAILINGS PLACEMENT (DSTP) IN ITS WATERS; WHY PNG?

Why is the Ramu Nickel Mine (RNM) a Chinese State owned company allowed by the government of PNG to dump its waste into the sea when it is ILLEGAL in China? Are the people of Raicoast where RNM plans to dump it’s waste not humans? Are they second class citizens?

Any country that bans dumping of waste into the sea KNOWS it will cause ecological disaster. If China is one of them then there is no point in using DSTP in PNG. The RNM should look at other options of waste disposal mechanisms. Land based option is the way to go; if not shift the waste to China and dump it there, not in PNG. If RNM argues that it can not build a dam because of frequent seismic activity in PNG then why is Morobe Mines building dams in its operation sites in Bulolo and Wau? Is it simply an excuse by RNM to give as it will coast a lot of money for building a dam?

The government of PNG should also consider its marine pollution laws by the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority. These laws protect MARINE LIFE and the PEOPLE from dumping waste into the sea. Regardless of these laws, the government of PNG amends the Environmental Act 2000 to allow companies to do whatever they want to do without consultation, approval and interference by resource-owners. What kind of government do we have?