SOLOWARA 1 PROJECT – A LONG TERM DISASTER FOR BISMARCK SEA COMMUNITY AND PNG

The Solwara 1 project  proposes to commercially exploit gold and copper deposits associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents at a depth of 1,500 in the Bismarck Sea close to New Ireland and East New Britain Provinces, in Papua New Guinea.

This pilot Project has been given the green light by the PNG Government to mine in the ocean for more than 20 years. It present the first large-scale, (mining) – induced, site-specific disturbance to the deep ocean basin anywhere in the world, it must be considered with hydrothermal deliberation and caution. Scientists only first discovered these deep-sea hydrothermal vents and their exotic ecosystems in 1976, and these biodiversity ecosystems in the oceans remain poorly understood today.

So our Government wants to develop the first deep sea mining in the world in the country and especially in the Bismarck Sea with no experience, no offshore policy and no appropriate legislation(s) to protect its own oceans/waters and the health of its local communities?

The Solowara 1 project was granted to the developer through the application of the Land Mining Laws and policies for the Oceans/Seas mining areas?

Please note that the ocean and Land cannot mix as these have different rates of changes and their boundaries of environmental conditions differ greatly. The ocean mining laws and policies must be different to land mining and also we must develop important human capacity resources in this area.

Do you seriously believe that the Developer – Nautilus Company has any experience in Deep Sea Mining in it’s country – Canada or elsewhere in the world? Why has the company designed and developed a Two Phase Approach to develop this Solwara 1 project? In Phase 1 it is planned for 30 months (less than 3 years) with the accompanied EIS/EIA to the government at the cost of US$1 Billion.

Within 3 years, Nautilus will be producing more than 2 million tonnes of ore each year and have yet to announce where it will process the ore and where the toxic waste will be treated and later dumped?

Phase 2 will commence later after another EIS/EIA submission. This 2 phased design approach suggests the company is not fully confident in the venture. If the company has any experiences in deep ocean mining with international standards, countries like, Canada, Australia and New Zealand would have accepted their bid to mine in the deep sea environment before PNG and the Pacific (Vanuatu, Solomon, Fiji and Tonga).

By Professor Chalapan Kaluwin (Professor in Environmental Science & Geology) at the University of Papua New Guinea, et al.