Ok Tedi environmental disaster

This mining pollution, caused by the collapse of the Ok Tedi tailings dam system in 1984 and the consequent switch to riverine disposal (disposal of tailings directly into the river) for several decades, was the subject of class action litigation brought by local landowners naming Ok Tedi Mining and BHP Billiton.

In 1999, BHP reported that 90 million tons of mine waste was annually discharged into the river for more than ten years and destroyed downstream villages, agriculture and fisheries.

"[1] As of 2006[update], mine operators continued to discharge 80 million tons of tailings, overburden, and mine-induced erosion into the river system each year.

[2] Following heavy rainfall, mine tailings are swept into the surrounding rainforest, swamps, and creeks, and have left behind 30 km2 of dead forest.

This would allow heavy metals and solid particles to settle, before releasing the less polluted ‘high-water’ into the river system where remaining contaminants would be diluted.

[citation needed] Most of Papua New Guinea's land is held under a system of native title, with ownership divided amongst many small clans, while the central government retains control over how resources that lie under the ground are used.

[6] In the 1990s the communities of the lower Fly Region, including the Yonggom people,[7] sued BHP and received US$28.6 million in an out-of-court settlement, which was the culmination of an enormous public-relations campaign against the company by environmental groups.

[9][10] Until the future closure, two thirds of the profits are to go into a long-term fund to enable the mine to continue to contribute to the PNG economy for up to half a century after it closes.