14 January 2019

The Londolovit Sagomana Association accuses the owner of the Lihir gold mine of stealing water through a dam where the miner extracts water for its operations.

Operators of the mine, now owned by Newcrest Mining subsidiary Lihir Gold Ltd, got approval to build the dam in the 1990s.

However, the Association's chairperson, Roselyne Arau, said Lihir Gold Ltd breached the permitted rates of water usage.

Landowners are seeking 113 million kina, or $US33 million, in compensation.

...Both Lihir Gold and PNG's Conservation and Environment Protection Authority have rejected the Association's claim.

...According to Ms Arau, the miner's over-extraction of water, as well as its practice of dumping mine waste into the marine environment, has had a detrimental [e]ffect on local livelihoods.

"They pump out water every day for gold operations, and they cause so much damage. Sometimes the water goes dry and the fish and everything in the water died away. At the same time we are not using the water any more for drinking and cooking."