Tolukuma, Papua New Guinea
Amid the lush green mountains of Papua New Guinea’s central province, the Auga-Angabanga river flows through the valleys. However, downstream the same river is choked with contaminated mine waste.
Fast facts
- Resource:
- Gold
- Mine location:
- Goilala district, Central province, Papua New Guinea
- Mine operator:
- Tolukuma Gold Mine
- Mine owner
- Petromin PNG Holdings Limited
- Affected communities:
- Yaloge, Fuyuge, Roro, Mekeo and Kuni people
River of poison
Each year, Tolukuma Gold Mine – formerly owned by Australian-based Emperor Mines Ltd – dumps more than 230,000 tonnes of mine waste into the Auga-Angabanga river system.
It's a mining practice that's illegal in Australia, but companies can get away with it in Papua New Guinea, and it's destroying people's lives.
"Please don’t do it to us … what you do not do in your own countries,” says local resident and Oxfam partner Matilda Koma.
This is why.
Communities living downstream from the mine report that:
- People have become sick or died from drinking and washing in the river
- Fish have died and food gardens have been destroyed, threatening their food supply
- Changes in the river flow have caused flash flooding, making it difficult for locals to cross the river and access their market gardens
"Our people have lived on this land for 2,000 years," says one community member. "We probably now have one of the richest alluvial soils in the country. What happens with the flooding that's coming annually in the rains [is] that richness in the soil is now under threat from the poison from this [river] water. So, this threatens the basis of life in our communities."
The river – once the lifeblood of communities – has become a source of fear. “The way we used to see the river was very clear and we could see the rocks we would cross," says a local from Goro. "Now we … hate the river, and the respect we had for the river we don’t have anymore. It gives us pain and fear that we don’t like the river.”
Women have been particularly affected as they're responsible for collecting water for their families. Women from some villages along the Angabanga River now walk many hours a day to collect water from cleaner streams and wells. This has increased their workload and some feel unsafe as they pass through land belonging to other villages.
Seeking justice for communities
We have been working with affected communities since 2005 to ensure that their concerns are addressed by the Tolukuma Gold Mine.
As one resident from Goilala district points out: “The company are here today and gone tomorrow – we are here to stay for generation after generation. They should respect and listen to us and not treat us like they do.”
In 2006, we commissioned scientific tests and analyses of the water in the river system which revealed levels of arsenic, lead and other metals and pollutants in the water well above World Health Organization standards.We then met with affected communities and key stakeholders, including Emperor Mines who has since sold the mine, to discuss these findings.
In 2007, we helped a team to assess alternative clean water sources for communities in Gagaifua and Oriropetana. The team comprised community members, local community organisations, Oxfam Australia technical advisers and, for the first time, mining company representatives.
What next?
The team's solutions for alternative water sources were accepted by the communities and the mine operator has begun implementing the recommendations contained in the team's report. Community members now have access to clean water for part of the year thanks to our work.
A local woman said, “My children are healthy now that they have access to clean water. In the past my children suffered from typhoid and diarrhoea but not any more”.
While it's critical that the mine follows through on the water assessment recommendations more still needs to be done. Petromin and Tolukuma Gold Mine management must honour their commitment that mine operations will have zero impact on the river system by 2010.
Learn more
- Read our Mining Ombudsman case report (PDF, 3.9MB)
- Read the water assessment report that evaluates options for alternative clean water supplies (PDF, 1.5MB)
- Read the scientific report that assesses the quality of domestic water supplies for affected communities (PDF, 241KB)
- Read the scientific report that assesses the condition of the Auga-Angabanga river system (PDF, 764KB)
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