Papua New Guinea: New clashes over the riches of the large gold mine, at least 20 dead: the clash between immigrant miners and landowners

PORT MORESBY (AsiaNews) – At least 20 people have died in violent clashes that erupted about five days ago near the Porgera gold mine in Enga province, Papua New Guinea. A scourge, this gold mining that enriches a few and brings pain and depopulation to many many others, denounced by Pope Francis during his visit to this part of the world. The proceeds of the Porgera gold mine, one of the richest in the world, are also distributed to local landowners as compensation for environmental damage. And this, however, has sparked clashes between different groups. The local police commissioner, David Manning, has issued an emergency order to safeguard infrastructure and residents from what have been defined as “illegal miners” who “use violence to victimize and terrorize local landowners”.

The use of thugs to silence the local population. There have been reports for some time of killings, rapes and arbitrary detention of Papua New Guinea villagers by agents of the unspecified “Barrick (private) security”, according to the website of Ariannaeditrice.it. In short, there was a large-scale mining operation that chose to ignore the effect it would have on the local population, and to get around this choice it did nothing but resort to squads of mace-bearers to bring anyone who rebelled back into line. This is what a representative of theAkali Tange Association (Papua New Guinea Human Rights Association).

The mine has reignited tribal conflicts. The presence of the mine, the second largest in Papua New Guinea, active since the 1990s, has reignited conflicts between tribal populations over land ownership. A theme touched upon several times by Pope Francis too on his recently concluded trip to Asia and Oceania. Just a week ago, the pontiff called for an end to tribal violence and the equitable distribution of wealth derived from natural resources.

The struggle between immigrant miners and local owners. It is unclear how many illegal miners operate in the region, but local authorities say that since the mine reopened in late 2023, there has been an increase in the number of migrants extracting gold from the excavations and surrounding areas, clashing with local landowners who instead receive revenue in compensation for environmental damage caused by mining, leaving foreign companies free to exploit the deposit and its underground resources.

All mining activity suspended. Second True Newsthe New Porgerathe company that operates the mine, has suspended operations because it cannot guarantee the safety of its staff. “In the last 24 hours, the escalation of tribal fighting has impacted many of our employees,” said James McTiernan, the company’s general manager. Local employees have been allowed to take unpaid leave to relocate and secure family.

It is one of the 10 largest gold mines in the world. The Porgera gold mine is located about 600 kilometers northwest of the capital Port Moresby, at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. It is among the top 10 largest gold mines in the world, contributing about 10% of the country’s exports. After a landslide in May cut off the road to the deposit, killing more than 100 people, the site can only be reached on foot or by air. About 50,000 people, in a country of 12 million, live in the region.

Whose mine is it? The New Porgera Limited It is now 51% owned by Papuan shareholders (divided between Kumul Minerals, a state-owned holding company, local landowners and the Enga provincial government) and 49% by Barrick Niugini, itself a joint venture between Canada’s Barrick Gold and China’s Zijin Mining. In 2019, the Papua New Guinea government refused to renew the license for foreign companies, leading to the mine’s closure in April 2020. The resumption of operations on 22 December 2023 was the result of lengthy negotiations.

Complaints from local residents. The locals have reported several times violence by security personnel and tried to bring attention to the problem of the disposal of waste from the mining industry, which, by polluting local rivers for years, have made agricultural land unproductive.