Tedi Copper Research Articles

Reaction Kinetics of Iron Oxides in Ok Tedi Magnetite Skarn Ore

Magnetic skarn ore (MSO) is one of the major copper bearing ore extracted by the Ok Tedi Copper Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Copper minerals are recovered by flotation while the iron not associated with copper are discarded as tailings. The objective of this investigation was to determine the iron ore reduction kinetics for the Ok Tedi MSO and ascertain if it can be processed to produce sponge iron for a mini steel plant in Papua New Guinea. SEM-EDAX analyses of the Ok Tedi MSO indicated 10.1% C, 30% O, 0.6% Mg, 1.1% Si, 21.1% S, 0.8% Ca and 36.2 % Fe. Most of the iron is in sulfide form. Both naturally occurring and roasted sinters of Ok Tedi MSO samples of different particle sizes were reduced by charcoal carbon at three different temperatures and seven different reduction times. Analyses of the reduced products indicated a metallic iron content of more than 65 wt. % on average. Results showed that there was no significant difference in reduction between fluxed and control materials. Only a slight increase in kinetics with reduced particle size, hence the reaction rate constant (K) did not vary much within the temperatures investigated. Reaction kinetics increases with increasing reduction time at 900°C. Therefore, more iron reduction is observed with particles of 106 µm size. In addition, the results also confirmed that the reduction energy used was higher at 800°C and lower at 1000°C. In conclusion, iron reduction can be improved but close monitoring of temperature and reduction times are essential to determine the reaction kinetics of the Ok Tedi MSO.

Ok Tedi copper mine, Papua New Guinea, stimulates algal growth in the Fly River

Fish populations utilised by riparian populations along the Fly River, Papua New Guinea (PNG), downstream of the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine have markedly declined in species richness (between 21 and 90%) and biomass (between 57 and 87%) during the operation of the mine (Storey et al., The Fly River Papua New Guinea. Environmental studies in an impacted tropical river system. Developments in Earth and Environmental Sciences, vol 9. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 427–462, 2009). A concern was that copper in wastes from the mine were negatively impacting algae in the river, thus altering the food web supporting the fish populations. This investigation found that the mining discharge to the Fly River increased, rather than decreased algal biomass in the Fly River, and did not appear to impact algae in associated off-river water bodies. It appears that nitrogenous explosives used in the mine have a fertilizing impact on the Fly River. There was no apparent impact of mine discharges on phytoplankton in the floodplain off-river water bodies, which was often concentrated in a prominent sub-surface maximum, and was not the main source of riverine plankton.

Social Relations and the Green Critique of Capitalism in Melanesia

ABSTRACT In this article, I explore what a critical environmental perspective would look like in Melanesia, where the distinction between nature and culture, and the expectation that science interprets the former in terms of the latter, may not apply. I consider changes in scientific knowledge production and the shift from cultural ecology to political ecology in Melanesian anthropology, including the argument that Melanesians are neither conservationists nor environmentalists. In contrast, I show how people exposed to pollution from the Ok Tedi copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea mobilize their understandings of difference in a green critique of capitalism. I examine a strategy session of local activists, a public meeting about their campaign against the mine, and a sorcery tribunal. Finally, I suggest that Melanesian ideas about social relations provide a useful ethnographic analogy for thinking about the mobility and short temporal horizons of contemporary capitalism.

Indigenous movements and the risks of counterglobalization: Tracking the campaign against Papua New Guinea's Ok Tedi mine

Many contemporary indigenous movements deploy strategies of counterglobalization that make innovative use of the architecture of globalization. This article examines an indigenous political movement that took legal action to gain compensation and limit the environmental impact of the Ok Tedi copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea. Even though the campaign sought to balance the desire for economic benefits with the protection of local subsistence practices, its objectives were frequently misinterpreted. Indigenous movements that deviate from an antidevelopment position run the risk of being seen as greedy rather than green. Instead of reproducing allegories about the successful exercise of veto power over development projects, anthropologists need ethnographic accounts that analyze the complex ambitions of indigenous movements and the risks of particular strategies of counterglobalization.

Response of barramundi, Lates calcarifer, populations in the Fly River, Papua New Guinea to mining, fishing and climate-related perturbation

Migrating barramundi (Perciformes : Centropomidae) spawners support a valuable artisanal fishery on the coast of south-western Papua New Guinea. This fishery declined dramatically during the 1990s shortly after the large Ok Tedi copper mine began in the headwaters of the large Fly River nearby. In order to understand the factors causing the decline, populations were sampled quarterly with gill-nets at over 20 sites throughout the Fly River from 1987 to 2001. Barramundi were most abundant in the middle and upper reaches of the Fly River. No evidence was found that output from the large Ok Tedi mine was negatively impacting on barramundi catch rates. However, the commercial fishery in the middle Fly River was found to have a negative impact on the weight of barramundi in monitoring catches in that region. Additionally, catch rates of juvenile barramundi (1 year olds) in the Fly River were negatively correlated with the amount of rainfall on the breeding grounds during the previous monsoon. This suggests that the reduced catch rates in the coastal commercial fishery in the late 1980s and early 1990s may have been affected by both the riverine commercial fishery and the El Niño (ENSO) that occurred at that time.

Mines and Monsters: A Dialogue on Development in Western Province, Papua New Guinea

This article analyses an internal debate between Gogodala villagers, Western Province, Papua New Guinea, in which they explore the concept of development through a dialogue that revolves around ela gi or ‘way of life’. The analysis focuses on two developmental projects: the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine, which affects eight Gogodala villages on the lower Fly River, and a test oil drill carried out among northern Gogodala villages in 1995. I propose that it is through ela gi, a lifestyle that encompasses an evangelical Christianity as well as the actions of the first ancestors and is based on a bodily experience of the environment, that community development is envisaged and debated. Whilst the oil drill in the north is discussed in terms of approval, villagers on the Fly River to the south are increasingly concerned about changes to their lifestyle and landscape. They explore this ambivalence through a discussion of the movements and moods of ancestrally‐derived ‘monsters’ or ugu lopala, creatures who patrol the waterways of both north and south villages. At the same time, Gogodala from both communities are articulating what the transition from ‘living on sago’ to a lifestyle based on money might mean. This dialogue foregrounds an ongoing debate about the roles that the environment, village practices, the ancestral past and Christianity play in the constitution of the Gogodala way of life, and how these factors may initiate a certain kind of development.

Anthropology and Advocacy

■ What are the responsibilities of anthropologists towards the communities with whom they work? This article examines debates on anthropology and advocacy in relation to the Ok Tedi copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea. Since the early 1990s, the indigenous communities living downstream from the mine have carried out on an international political and legal campaign to reduce the mine's environmental impact and gain compensation for the damage it has caused. I argue that neutrality may not be possible in disputes between transnational corporations and indigenous communities because of structural inequalities that make it easier for corporations to take advantage of anthropological expertise and silence opposing voices. This article invokes questions raised in recent discussions of cultural property rights to consider the proprietary responsibilities of anthropologists towards the information that they collect and the claims made on anthropologists by the subjects of their research. Finally, the article considers the implications of recent political and economic trends regarding the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in monitoring international capital for anthropological activism.

Terrain hazard around the Ok Tedi copper mine, Papua New Guinea

Rationale Located in the remote Star Mountains of Western Province, Papua New Guinea, the Ok Tedi open-cut copper mine operates under conditions of particular topographical and geotechnical adversity. Slopes are frequently steep, rocks are highly fractured and weakened due to tectonics and weathering, and rainfall is world record-breaking, with annual totals exceeding 10 m in the vicinity of the mine (Jones & Maconochie 1990). The mine is planned to occupy an area of 2 km diameter with a depth of 500 m at an altitude of 1800 m a.s.l. The mine supply corridor, along which power, food and other essential materials are brought in and copper concentrate is piped out, is 160 km long, and is itself at risk from slope, flooding and erosional hazards. The threat posed by these hazards to the operation of the mine and the viability of its supply corridor has been recognized and evaluated by the geotechnical department of Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) since the project‘s inception. However, the severity and proximity of this risk were perhaps not fully realized until 1989 when a rock avalanche involving perhaps as much as 70 x 10 6 m 3 of material occurred within a very short distance of the mine office. The collapse of the mountainside was dramatic and was considered to have been responsible for the seismic event recorded at the time of failure in Port Moresby, approximately 800 km away. Although the infrastructure of the mine was not directly affected by this failure, it served as a

Bioleaching of Ok Tedi copper concentrate in oxygen- and carbon dioxide-enriched air

Bacterial leaching of sulphide minerals is fairly well established in heap, dump and in-situ leaching and the primary bacterial treatment of refractory gold concentrate using CSTRs has gained industrial prominence in recent years. Three cultures, a mesophile T.ferrooxidans (DSM 583), a moderate thermophile Sulfobacillus accidophilus (YTF1) and an extreme thermophile (Sulfolobus BC65) were used to bioleach the Ok Tedi copper concentrate under the optimal O 2 and CO 2 enriched air in laboratory CSTRs (2L) at 30% O 2 and 10% CO 2 by volume. The positive effect of using oxygen and carbon dioxide enriched air to bioleach the copper mineral was clearly demonstrated where increases in Cu leaching rate by factors of 2.8, 2.1 and 1.9 for DSM 583, YTF1 and Sulfolobus respectively were observed compared with shake flask tests. The lag phase observed in shake flasks or in CSTR with air, was eliminated when the mineral was leached under optimal gas enrichment and ≈80% of the Cu was extracted in the first 120 to 150 hours of leaching for all three cultures. The average observed dissolved oxygen concentrations in the pulp were 11.8, 8.0 and 7.2 mg/l for DSM 583, YTF1 and Sulfolobus respectively, indicating that O 2 was not limiting in these tests. The Fe released during the bioleaching of copper was non stiochiometric for a predominantly chalcopyrite concentrate and the low redox potential values (max 638mV) suggested galvanic interaction during the leaching of copper where chalcopyrite was leached preferentially in the presence of pyrite. Bioleaching of copper under optimum gas enrichment at different pulp densities showed that near total copper extraction occurred at pulp densities of 3, 10 and 20% (w/v). At high pulp densities, more so at 40% than 30% (w/v), the leaching rate decreased rapidly for experiments with YTF1 and Sulfolobus. Monitoring of dissolved O 2 shows that the O 2 demand increased with increasing pulp density and the average dissolved O 2 concentrations observed for DSM 583, YTF1 and Sulfolobus at 40% solids concentration were 3.0, 2.6 and 2.4 mg/l respectively, suggesting that oxygen and carbon dioxide are not limiting. The decrease in leaching rate observed at high pulp densities (30 & 40%) under optimum gas enrichment was accompanied by low metal dissolution and low redox potential values which was attributed to shear stress due to attrition of cells at high solids concentration. The toxicity of metal ions especially Ag, Fe and Cu, and the formation of precipitates and jarosites was confirmed from XRD analysis of leach residues. These factors appeared to impede the leaching process rather than limiting O 2 and CO 2 conditions.

Temporal and Spatial Variations in Fish Catches in the Fly River System in Papua New Guinea and the Possible Effects of the Ok Tedi Copper Mine

Biological monitoring of fishes in the Fly River system in Papua New Guinea has been carried out in relation to the input into the system of mine wastes from the Ok Tedi copper mine. A total of 86 fish species representing 32 families has been recorded from sites in the main river channel since the commencement of monitoring operations in 1983. Catfish in the families Ariidae (16 spp.) and Plotosidae (9 spp.) were the dominant groups overall, although Nematolosa herrings were the most numerous species, forming over 37% of the catch. However, barramundi, Lates calcarifer, comprised the greatest biomass, forming over 30% of the overall catch. Fish catch biomass at most sites showed considerable temporal and spatial variation over the period of sampling. However, significant reductions in biomass, ranging from 65% to 96%, were recorded at most sites in the Ok Tedi, middle and upper Fly. The greatest declines in biomass were recorded in the Ok Tedi at sites closest to the mine, although reductions up to 73% were also recorded at sites in the middle Fly. Barramundi, which formed a high proportion of catch biomass at many sites, particularly in the middle Fly, declined in number at most sites following peak numbers in the early 1990's. The main causative factors involved in the overall declines in fish catches, including both mine-related and non-mine-related factors, are discussed. It is concluded that loss of fish habitat through increased river bed aggradation, due to the input of mined waste rock and tailings, is likely to be the main causal factor. However, other mine-related factors, such as elevated levels of dissolved and particulate copper, and other non-mine-related factors, such as introduced species, may also be involved in declining fish catches.

Situating Justice in the Environment: The Case of BHP at the Ok Tedi Copper Mine

The rubric of sustainable development has now gained wide theoretical and political acceptance in the global community. However, after the Rio Declaration, each nation must now confront the specific question of how to decide between those industries and activities that are sustainable and those that are not when conflicting social and ecological interests are at stake. Any fundamental change to resource allocation will have social distributional consequences, and the issue of justice therefore becomes a critical element of any sustainability formulation. This paper contributes to this debate by exploring the potential for a politically grounded theory of justice in and to the environment. More specifically, we argue for a situated analysis that nevertheless retains the postulate of a neo‐Kantian universal ethic as the foundation for global institutions that could integrate and safeguard the principles of justice and ecological responsibility underpinning most notions of sustainability. We show this by locating the question of justice in a particular conflict of interest, that between the Australian mining giant Broken Hill Proprietary, Ltd., and the traditional landowners of an area on the Ok Tedi river in Papua New Guinea.

Biological monitoring of the impacts of the Ok Tedi copper mine on fish populations in the Fly River system, Papua New Guinea

Monitoring of the impacts of the Ok Tedi copper mine on fish populations in the Fly River system in Papua New Guinea has recorded approx. 100 species of fish representing 32 families. Fish catches have shown considerable temporal and spatial variability but, since the commencement of mine operations and the input of mine-derived waste material into the headwaters of the system, long-term monitoring has revealed significant reductions in fish catches at most riverine sites in the Ok Tedi, upper and middle Fly River. However, no significant declines in fish catches have been recorded in the lower Fly or delta areas. Possible mechanisms accounting for the declines in fish catches in the river are discussed. Although catches in some floodplain habitats have also declined, these changes are thought to be associated with the effects of natural climatic phenomena, particularly El Nino droughts. Introduced species and increased commercial and artisanal fishing may also have had an effect. Levels of copper, zinc, lead and cadmium were found to be elevated in tissues from a range of fish species taken from riverine and floodplain sites sampled in the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers. Metal levels were generally much higher in liver and kidney than from flesh. There was a general trend for metal concentrations to decrease with distance downstream from the mine, suggesting a mine-related effect. Significantly higher metal concentrations were recorded at `impact' compared to `control' sites. The intake of dietary copper by humans consuming fish taken from the river is well within guidelines set by the World Health Organisation and does not constitute a health risk. Ok Tedi Mining Limited has recently initiated a programme of mitigation works aimed at reducing the adverse effects of mine wastes on the river environment.

Landslide and erosion hazard mapping of Ok Tedi copper mine, Papua New Guinea : G. J. Hearn, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 28(1), 1995, pp 47–60

Landslide and erosion hazard mapping of Ok Tedi copper mine, Papua New Guinea : G. J. Hearn, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology, 28(1), 1995, pp 47–60

Landslide and erosion hazard mapping at Ok Tedi copper mine, Papua New Guinea

Abstract Landslides and erosion pose significant hazards to mining and engineering activity in the remote mountainous terrain of Western Province, Papua New Guinea. The investigation and containment of these hazards have been the concern of the Ok Tedi open-cast copper mine since engineering feasibility studies began in 1978. Subsequent terrain hazard mapping has identified numerous landslides and rock avalanche deposits in the Ok Tedi catchment and in the immediate vicinity of the mine, ranging from very low frequency, catastrophic rock avalanches through to mudslides and mudflows that recur on a daily or weekly basis. This mapping formed part of a multidisciplinary geotechnical study instigated by Ok Tedi Mining Limited and comprised detailed slope inventory, geomorphological mapping combined with air photograph interpretation nd a review of pre-existing structural geological and geotechnical data. The study area was sub-divided into 245 zones and assigned hazard and risk categories or levels derived from the field data. These classifications were presented in map form at 1:10 000 scale along with prioritized recommendations for further investigation, monitoring and remedial action, where appropriate.

Partitioning and complexation of copper in the Fly River, Papua New Guinea

A combination of field and laboratory studies have been conducted to examine the role of complexation by dissolved organic matter (DOM) and partitioning onto suspended sediments in controlling the distribution and speciation of copper in the Fly River, Papua New Guinea. The system receives a substantial input of copper, primarily in paniculate form, from the Ok Tedi copper mine which is located in the head waters of the river system. Release of dissolved copper from mine-derived particulates is the dominant process occurring in the first 600 km downstream of the mine site after which there is significant attenuation of dissolved copper concentrations through adsorption reactions involving riverine sediments. Speciation measurements show that dissolved copper is present predominantly in the form of DOM complexes. Inorganic copper has a much higher adsorptive aftinity for natural particulates than copper complexed with DOM. Adsorption kinetics studies strongly suggest that dissolved and adsorbed copper are not in true thermodynamic equilibrium. The combination of release from mine-derived particles, complextion by organic matter, adsorption onto particulates and disequilibrium between (the various forms of copper gives rise to a highly complex system.

Assessment and prediction of the impacts of the Ok Tedi copper mine on fish catches in the Fly River system, Papua New Guinea

The Ok Tedi copper mine discharges overburden and ore residues into the Ok Tedi, a tributary of the Fly River. These discharges result in elevated suspended solids and dissolved and particulate associated copper. Analyses of covariance were performed to establish statistical model of the relationships between the mine discharges and fish catches between 1983 and 1988. These models were then extrapolated to predict the affects of future mine discharges on fish catches. The models predicted that if the observed effects were caused by particulate associated copper, the period of greatest impact will be between 1989 and 1993, following which catches should be close to 1988 levels for the remainder of mine life. Some additional catches not included in the data set used to derive the models were found to fit the model predictions well. As the predicted period of greatest impact is short and most species reproduce away from the river channel, the ability of the fish communities to undergo partial recovery after 1991 should be maintained.

Investigations of the impact of effluent from the Ok Tedi copper mine on the fisheries resource in the Fly River, papua new guinea

The Ok Tedi copper mine currently discharges overburden and partially treated ore residues into the Ok Tedi, a major tributary of the Fly River. At peak production these discharges will result in an increase in the suspended solids levels in the Fly River from a background of 76 mg L(-1) to approximately 800 mg L(-1), and an increase in median particulate copper levels from 90 μg g(-1) to 1220 μg g(-1). The dissolved copper levels are not expected to exceed 10 μg L(-1). The Strickland River, a tributary of the Fly River, has natural suspended solids levels in excess of 500 mg L(-1) and provided a natural bioassay for the impacts of elevated suspended solids levels. The fish communities of the Strickland River were dominated by the sediment-tolerant Ariidae catfish, but the levels of biomass caught per standard sampling effort were comparable to those in the Fly River. Laboratory bioassays were performed to assess the impact of particulate associated copper. The fish fauna of the Fly River does not include any standard test species, and it is unlikely that standard species would be unaffected by the high suspended solids levels of the Fly River. Test species were selected on the basis of ecological importance. Two freshwater prawns,Macrobrachium rosenbergii andMacrobrachium sp., a catfish,Neosilurus ater, and a cladoceran,Ceriodaphnia dubia, were tested for acute toxicity and bioaccumulation of copper from particulates. There was no evidence of acute toxicity to prawns or fish, nor for bioaccumulation by prawns. Acute toxicity toC. dubia and bioaccumulation byN. ater were probably due to dissolved copper in the test environments. The test results indicated that provided dissolved copper levels did not exceed the predicted levels, there should not be toxic affects of particulate-associated copper in the Fly River.

The Ok Tedi Health and Nutrition Project, Papua New Guinea: adult physique of three populations in the North Fly region.

Adult physiques of three populations living close to a major gold and copper mine are described and compared. Men of all three groups do not differ in stature, sitting height, biceps, triceps, subscapular and medial calf skinfold thicknesses. However, Wopkaimin men are heavier, with bigger mid-upper arm circumference and bi-iliac diameter than their Ningerum and Awin counterparts. Women of all three groups have similar stature, sitting height, biacromial diameter, biceps and triceps skinfold thicknesses. Wopkaimin women have greater values for mid-upper arm and calf circumference, subscapular, supra-iliac and medial calf skinfold thicknesses, and bi-iliac diameter. These differences are attributed to an increase in the plane of nutrition of the Wopkaimin, who live closest to, and have been most affected by the Ok Tedi gold and copper mining operation.

Ok Tedi Copper Project, Papua New Guinea: ABSTRACT

Ok Tedi Copper Project, Papua New Guinea: ABSTRACT