17 June 2020

Chiefs from 28 haus tambarans – "spirit houses" – representing 78,000 people along Papua New Guinea's remote Sepik river have formally declared they want a proposal for the country's largest ever mine halted.

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Haus tambarans are the cultural and political hub of villages in the Sepik region. [...]

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It said: "The river is the life of the Sepik and therefore it must be protected at all cost. It is our innate role to guard the river from exploitation and destruction by outsiders. Our future is in peril from this proposed mine and, therefore, we have gathered together as guardians of the river to stand firm as one."

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PanAust said it had engaged in "extensive and ongoing engagement ... over several decades" with those affected by the mine, running information sessions in nearly 140 villages, attended by more than 18,000 people.

"Local opinions and issues have been sought through engagement campaigns ... formal and informal meetings with village leaders, and through socioeconomic surveys conducted in villages between 2010 and 2018," the company said in the statement.

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Mine campaigner Emmanuel Peni told the Guardian PanAust had not been "honest or transparent" in its consultations with those who live in the Sepik river valley.

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Peni, from Korogu village on the Sepik River, said the villages felt the need to make the collective declaration – admissible in court – because "they do not trust the government, the police, the army and the outsider who is the owner of the Frieda mine".

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The Guardian put detailed questions to PanAust regarding its community consultation process and environmental impact statement.

The company said: "PanAust remains committed to working with its communities, the government of Papua New Guinea and other relevant stakeholders to fulfil its statutory requirements and obtain the necessary permits to progress the Frieda river Project."

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