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Landowners shut PNG Ok Tedi copper mine - radio |
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| AUSTRALIA: November 27, 2001 | ||
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SYDNEY - Landowners claiming a share of BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc's 52 per cent stake in the Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea have shut down operations, Australian Broadcasting Corp radio reported yesterday.
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The mine was shut down at 2000 GMT on the weekend after the landowners camped on a bridge on the access road to the mine, the report said. The landowners had presented a petition which calls for a share of BHP Billiton's stake in Ok Tedi to be transferred to them and for compensation for environmental damage caused by the mine, the report said. Papua New Guinea's government last month refused a request from local landowners that they be granted 12 per cent of the benefits from the Program Trust Company, where BHP Billiton's interest in the mine will be transferred when the company quits the mine early next year. BHP Billiton in September reached an in-principle agreement with the government to put its share of mine owner, Ok Tedi Mining Ltd, into a trust and cease involvement next year. Landowners in the area and Ok Tedi Mining officials could not be immediately reached for comment. The PNG government is a 30 percent stakeholder in the mine, with Canada's Inmet Mining Corp holding the remaining 18 percent. Ok Tedi produces about 200,000 tonnes of copper a year. BHP Billiton has already written off the value of its stake in the mine, which is located in the rugged Star Mountains. A World Bank study supported early closure of OK Tedi, but the government has been anxious to keep the mine open for economic reasons.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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