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Ramu Nickel Mine: Ocean dumping mine source of controversy
The Ramu Nickel mine consists of a lateritic nickel deposit that was discovered at Kurumbukari, a site south of the Ramu River in the early 1960's. In 1997 Highlands Gold- previously involved in the development of the riverine dumping Pogera mine- secured management of the project, and in 1997 Highlands Pacific was estalished as new company to manage the Ramu NIckel Project.
Since 1998, the Ramu Mine has been the subject of considerable controversy in both Papua New Guinea and Australia, in particular due to concerns that its ocean dumping (submarine tailings disposal or STD) operation could adversely affect the ecology of Astrolabe Bay. Local people along the Madang coastline are dependant on the ecological health of the region and the wider Astrolabe Bay, which now supports an extensive tuna fishery. River communities downstream of the mine hold similar concerns over the potential impacts on their resources. For these reasons, the New Guinean National Fisheries Authority wrote in an report that,“The Ramu Nickel Mine Project is an unsustainable project socially, economically, and environmentally; and cannot be allowed to proceed.”
In September 1999, Highlands Pacific provided the government of Papua New Guinea with the Ramu Nickel Environmental Plan prepared by Natural Systems Research (NSR) with the aim of securing permits for the project. In March 2001, despite local discussion and controversy, and significant evidence of unacceptable risks associated with the development , the PNG Office of Environment and Conservation(OEC) approved the Ramu Nickel Environmental plan.
The project failed to attract an investor amongst the major nickel mining companies or international capital markets, possibly linked to both the problematic economic and technical issues associated with the exploitation of low grade nickel deposits, as well as the contraversy over environmental and social issues surrounding the project.
In 2004 the China Metallurgical Construction Company, a state-owned steel company started negotiations to pay around US$500 million for control of the Ramu nickel mine, with media reporting that the move was to ease a raw material shortage for stainless-steel makers such as Shanghai Baosteel. This recent development has raised concerns amongst those communiites living downstream of the mining operation, and along the coastal area where mine wastes will be dumped, with ongoing concerns that costs and negative impacts vastly outway the potential benefits from the mine.
Diverse reports warn of the unacceptable impacts of the proposed Ramu nickel mine and the flawed and inaccurate predictions of the environmental plan developed by NSR consultants.
Numerous reports by academics and scientists, as well as Papua New Guinean National Fisheries Authority highlighted serious flaws in the environmental and social assessment processes, and questioned whether the mining operation was in the benefit of either the local communities or the Papua New Guinean state.
- The PNG National Fisheries Authority
The report of the PNG National Fisheries Authority stated “the Ramu Nickel mine project is an unsustainble project, socially, eocnomically and environmentally and cannot be allowed to proceed… mining tailings dumped into Basamuk Bay will gradually create food losses to Papua New Guinea’s rich and renewable fisheries resources of the Bismark Sea.
- Dr Tom Wagner, American Scientist, previously of the University of Papua New Guinea
Dr Wagner reviewed the environmental plan prepared by the company consultants, NSR at the request of the PNG government Department of Environment and Conservation. The paper looked at chemical and toxicological aspects of the ocean dumping of tailings and mine wastes, and found that important work needed to be done to properly assess the threats posed by the project to the environment.
He found that tailings that were toxic to marine life had inaccurately been classified as non toxic, and that contrary to the suggestion that tailings would be permanently stored on the sea bed, tailings solids will likely release metals and unknown toxins throughout the life of the mine and for many years afterwards.
- "A review of risks presented by the Ramu Nickel Project to the ecology of Astrolabe Bay, PNG" (Scientific assessments from scientists from James Cook University, Flinders University, UPNG and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.)
The review found that the company’s environmental plan for waste dumping are so inadequate that no realistic assessment of the mine’s impact can be made, and that the environmental impacts are significantly greater than the company has indicated, including the contamination of local reef systems and parts of Astrolabe Bay with mine waste. On the basis of the study carried out by the company, the risks to the ecology, fish, animal and plant life in Astrolabe Bay cannot be accurately predicted.
- Ramu Nickel:A preliminary review of the risks facing the Ramu catchment," Mineral Policy Institute
A preliminary assessment of the impacts along the Ramu River system highlights the absence of reliable data or modelling based on the environmental conditions in the region and thus an inability to rely upon the prediction of impacts in the existing environmental plan.
A number of economical and technical factors hinder the profitable development of the Ramu nickel mine and are important public interest considerations. This paper explores the economic and technical issues behind the projects development.
The Ramu mine contains a low-grade nickel deposit, in an ore type called ‘nickel laterite’ which can only be exploited by problematic and unproven processing technology. There is widespread doubt around the HPAL (high pressure acid leaching) technology proposed to be used, and linked to recent economic and technical failures of this technology in Australia, the mine has failed to secure the interest of any of the global mining companies, or of the Western capital markets. Ramu sits at the lower end of nickel grades for projects currently under consideration (it has grades of around 0.98-1.1%1 nickel compared to 1.3-2% nickel for other projects currently considered). Analysts and major mining companies such as WMC and Inco (who are some of the largest nickel producers worldwide) have stated that nickel mines utilizing the expensive and problematic technology proposed at Ramu are not economically viable at the nickel grades present at Ramu, at production rates or capital costs proposed.
For more information, please contact:
Techa Beaumont
Executive Director
Workphone: +61 2 9557 9019
Mobile: +61 (0) 409 318 406
Created: 02 Jan 2005 | Last updated: 16 May 2005
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