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Rio Tinto urged to clean-up Bougainville mine site
by ramunickel
Jemima Garrett | ABC Radio Australia
Scientists say mining group Rio Tinto will have to improve its environmental record if it plans to reopen its mine on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville.
In the 1980s development of the mine sparked a decade-long civil war which left more than 10,000 people dead.
But now the Bougainville government is looking for new development opportunities.
A study by Rio subsidiary Bougainville Copper says the mine is economically viable and could be reopened in as few as six years.
A mining expert, Gavin Mudd, told Radio Australia there is a lot of damage on Bougainville that needs cleaning up before new mining can take place.
Dr Mudd is a senior lecturer in environmental engineering at Monash University and chairman of the Minerals Policy Institute.
He said work was needed to alleviate the effect of acid mine drainage, where minerals left lying on the ground reacted with rainwater to produce sulphuric acid, with devastating effects.
The academic said guesswork put the cost of a clean-up at $1 billion or more.
"But that cost at the moment is being borne by the local environment and the community," he said.
"Their gardens are gone, their water quality is severely impacted."
ramunickel | May 3, 2013 at 12:44 pm
by ramunickel
Jemima Garrett | ABC Radio Australia
Scientists say mining group Rio Tinto will have to improve its environmental record if it plans to reopen its mine on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville.
In the 1980s development of the mine sparked a decade-long civil war which left more than 10,000 people dead.
But now the Bougainville government is looking for new development opportunities.
A study by Rio subsidiary Bougainville Copper says the mine is economically viable and could be reopened in as few as six years.
A mining expert, Gavin Mudd, told Radio Australia there is a lot of damage on Bougainville that needs cleaning up before new mining can take place.
Dr Mudd is a senior lecturer in environmental engineering at Monash University and chairman of the Minerals Policy Institute.
He said work was needed to alleviate the effect of acid mine drainage, where minerals left lying on the ground reacted with rainwater to produce sulphuric acid, with devastating effects.
The academic said guesswork put the cost of a clean-up at $1 billion or more.
"But that cost at the moment is being borne by the local environment and the community," he said.
"Their gardens are gone, their water quality is severely impacted."
ramunickel | May 3, 2013 at 12:44 pm
