The politics of mine closure and sustainable development at the OK Tedi mine, Papua New Guinea

Unequal Lives: Gender, Race and Class in the Western Pacific

“…A rough estimate of Telefolmin living in Tabubil and surrounding environs at the time runs to several hundred, including families of Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) employees who enjoyed company housing in town. Workers from Telefomin district have for some years formed the core of the OTML labour force (see Jorgensen, 2006;Jenkins, 2016a). 4 Tabubil is the town associated with the Ok Tedi mine, and serves as the administrative, logistical and commercial centre for the project, including an international airport.…”

“…The result was an out-of-court settlement for damages (Banks & Ballard, 1997) that ultimately led to BHP's 2002 exit from the project to avoid future liability. Subsequent legislation governing Ok Tedi permitted the mine to operate until 2009 and then to 2015; in 2011-12, OTML was preparing a submission to extend mine operation to 2025 (see Carr & Filer, 2011;Jenkins, 2016a). Such plans required approval by landowners and villages along the Fly River that had been affected by the mine's pollution, and had also to be approved by the PNG government.…”

“…(Garrett, 2013, emphasis added) In line with these statements, OTML and PNGSDP developed plans for Western Province after mine closure. 16 These included the Tabubil Futures project, which aimed to transform Tabubil into a mixed-economy town with 'a college in the clouds' as its centrepiece: the Star Mountains Institute of Technology (Business Advantage Papua New Guinea, 2012a; Jenkins, 2016a;Nalu, 2012;PNGSDP, 2011).…”

“…(OTML, 2013, p. 6) 16 PNGSDP's most successful project of this period was the 2011 construction of a telecom tower network that provided mobile phone coverage to most of the population of Western Province. For information on the relationship between OTML and PNGSDP, in addition to mine extension plans, see Carr and Filer (2011), Filer and Jenkins (2017), Jenkins (2016a), Howes (2013b) and Morauta (2014). I discuss the crucial role played by PNGSDP's Long Term Fund (LTF) below.…”

The Problem of the Semi-Alienable Anthropologist

“…The result was an out-of-court settlement for damages (Banks & Ballard, 1997) that ultimately led to BHP's 2002 exit from the project to avoid future liability. Subsequent legislation governing Ok Tedi permitted the mine to operate until 2009 and then to 2015; in 2011-12, OTML was preparing a submission to extend mine operation to 2025 (see Carr & Filer, 2011;Jenkins, 2016a). Such plans required approval by landowners and villages along the Fly River that had been affected by the mine's pollution, and had also to be approved by the PNG government.…”