What does Ok Tedi mean?
What does Ok Tedi mean?
Known as the Ok Tedi River by the Yonggom people who live on its western bank, it was renamed the Alice River by the Italian explorer Luigi d’Albertis. Ok is the word for water or river in the Ok languages family. It is a tributary of the Fly River. Tributaries of the Ok Tedi include the Birim.
What happened at Ok Tedi?
The Ok Tedi environmental disaster caused severe harm to the environment along 1,000 km (620 mi) of the Ok Tedi River and the Fly River in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea between around 1984 and 2013. The lives of 50,000 people have been disrupted.
Why did BHP leave Ok Tedi?
BHP agreed to give away its ownership of the mine in return for a guarantee that it would not be sued for environmental damage. BHP did not want to gift its shares in Ok Tedi to the PNG Government because of well-established concerns about corruption and limited capacity within the PNG public sector.
Who owned Ok Tedi?
Ownership. OTML is a 100 percent Papua New Guinea (PNG) owned entity with 67 percent direct shareholding by the Independent State of PNG and the people of Western Province holding a 33 percent interest. 100% of the benefits from its operations are distributed to the people of Western Province and the State.
How do they mine Ok Tedi?
The mine is powered by a hydroelectric power facility at Ok Menga, which is a tributary of the Ok Tedi River near Tabubil. There are also backup diesel generators that are used if the flow from the Ok Menga river is not enough to generate sufficient electricity.
What type of mine is OK Tedi?
The Ok Tedi mine is an open-cut copper, gold and silver mine located at Mt. Fubilan in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
What is the main problem of inland mines like Ok Tedi on the river environment?
Monitoring of the effects of the Ok Tedi Mine on the Fly River system has shown that the discharge of waste rock and tailings into the river has resulted in elevated sediment loads, increased particulate and dissolved copper levels, aggradation of the river bed, increased frequency and duration of floodplain inundation …
Why can’t the PNG government close the Ok Tedi Mine for environmental reasons?
Initially, the Ok Tedi mine did not benefit from immunity regarding its environmental practices. By request of the government, the mine was only to operate if a tailings dam was built to filter out much of the waste dumped in the river.
What did BHP do with its 52% shareholding in Ok Tedi?
BHP Billiton today completed its withdrawal from the Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea with the transfer of its 52 per cent equity stake to PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (Program Company), a development fund that will operate for the benefit of the Papua New Guinean people.
Why can’t the PNG government close the Ok Tedi mine for environmental reasons?
Where is the Ok Tedi mine located?
Papua New Guinea
The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
Who owns Lihir goldmine?
Newcrest Mining
The gold mine was managed by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto until late 2005, and the operatorship was then handed over to Lihir Gold. Australian miner Newcrest Mining acquired Lihir Gold in a $9bn deal in 2010.
How did the Ok Tedi River get its name?
The largest settlement of the Western Province, Tabubil is located near its banks. Known as the Ok Tedi River by the Yonggom people who live on its western bank, it was renamed the Alice River by the Italian explorer Luigi d’Albertis. Ok is the word for water or river in the Ok languages family.
When did the Ok Tedi environmental disaster happen?
Ok Tedi environmental disaster. The Ok Tedi environmental disaster caused severe harm to the environment along 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) of the Ok Tedi River and the Fly River in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea between about 1984 and 2013.
Is the Ok Tedi Mine still in operation?
As part of the settlement, a (limited) dredging operation was put in place and efforts were made to rehabilitate the site around the mine. However the mine is still in operation and waste continues to flow into the river system. BHP was granted legal indemnity from future mine related damages. The Ok Tedi Mine was scheduled to close in 2013.
Where is the Ok Tedi River in Papua New Guinea?
The Ok Tedi is a river in New Guinea. The Ok Tedi Mine is located near the headwaters of the river, which is sourced in the Star Mountains. Nearly the entirety of the river runs through the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, but the river crosses the international boundary with Indonesia for less than one kilometre.
