23 - Introducing the Chemical Industry into the Science Curriculum in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This chapter elaborates introduction of chemical industry into the science curriculum in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is a young, developing nation, achieving independence in 1975. Industries which can be classified as chemical industries by Western standards are almost nonexistent in Papua New Guinea. As yet, most of the raw materials it produces are exported to other countries to be processed or manufactured into useful products. However, some factories have already been built; more will be built in future. At this stage of the country's development, the mining industry and the processing of local primary products can be considered which utilize the basic techniques of chemical technology. Among those industries which are in successful operation are copper and gold mining, beer brewing, the production and refining of sugar, ethanol production from sugar wastes, food processing, nail and wire products, polyurethene foam products, match manufacture, and many others. The export of copper concentrate from the Bougainville Copper Ltd. project alone, contributes about a third of the country's foreign exchange earnings. This chapter explains how the lower secondary school pupils are introduced to chemical industry in Papua New Guinea, with particular reference to the mining and extraction of copper on Bougainville Island.