PNG mine closed by land dispute

Issue 

PNG mine closed by land dispute

By Alex Bruhl

PORT MORESBY — The Mt Kare alluvial gold mine, near Porgera in a remote area of the Papua New Guinea highlands, remains closed after being raided by armed men on January 9.

The raid, reminiscent of the Bougainville crisis, was the latest in a sequence of incidents involving the mine, which has been the centre of controversy over the ownership of the land on which it is located.

Police are still trying to locate the 17 men involved in the raid, with at least one being identified as a former employee of the mine. The raid has sparked debate over the handling of land disputes of this type, as well as the whole question of foreign transnational corporations controlling the mining and oil sectors of the PNG economy.

These foreign corporations have been accused by many people in PNG of exploitation. The accusations range from environmental degradation and underpaying for resource access to demanding special guarantees of state protection when they get themselves in trouble.

An example of this has occurred in the wake of the Mt Kare raid, where a special police unit has been formed to protect resource development projects. Calls for business to fund this squad have previously been rejected.

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