The Ok Tedi river level is rising, says a longtime businessman amid plans to shut down the OTML mine.
Ok Tedi Mine Ltd announced this morning that it was preparing a temporary shutdown of mine operations because of the dry season and its effects on supplies coming up the river and on the hydro power supply.
A short time ago, Warren Dutton told Facebook that the river level at downstream Kiunga was 10.61 metres this morning “and rising’’.
The former North Fly Member of Parliament and businessman said: “All OTML vessels (except any which missed the channel) are moving again.’’
He said “From the records, which I have kept since 1963, the cycle of serious El Ninos was 7 to 10 years. It is now 18 years since the last serious one in 1997, so the cycle has been changed!
“I have been in fear and trembling for many of the past 10 years that the next big one was on us. Each year the rain saved us. I am most fearful that this year will be it!’’
Photo: The busy Kiunga port, now the focus of worries about the river level.