Mining company plays down landowners protest

LIHIR – The mining company Newcrest says operations at its Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea have resumed following a temporary disruption caused by a small local group.

Operations were halted at the weekend for around 36 hours after taboo ginger plants were placed outside the mine by the Lihir Mining Area Landowners Association in a signal of its dispute with Newcrest.

The dispute is understood to relate to allocation of benefits to the landowners from the gold mine.

Newcrest says it halted operations as a precautionary measure for safety and security reasons, but has described the action of the landowner group as illegal.

The parties agreed in May to an audit process to review the allocation of benefits associated with landholder’s commercial activities.

Newcrest says it is committed to working with landowners and all levels of government to create long term sustainable benefit from the mine for all stakeholders including the host community.