Ok Tedi Mine

Ok Tedi Mine Life Extended

Tabubil Sec e-Library

The school has over 600 students and 40 teachers.

The e-Library was equally funded by the Ok Tedi Mine Villages and Nupmo Women & Children’s Association at a total cost of one hundred thousand kina.

The Women & Children’s Association identified information access as a key area of need in schools across the CMCA communities and the Western Province.

School Principal Galama Laka, said this is the first time a technologically advanced library system would be used in the school.

Ok Tedi loses revenue

This has directly impacted foreign currency inflows into PNG.

OTML says it also continues to incur a significant amount of its normal operating costs, losing approximately K33 million (US$10m) per week.

The company now plans to restart its operations on the 14th of September, six weeks after suspending the mine.

Since the suspension the Company initiated a contact tracing, testing and an isolation program at the mine site with over 3,000 samples collected with 143 positive COVID-19 cases identified in Tabubil.

OTML to control Covid-19 spread

Of the seven cases, only one person has exhibited flu like symptoms. The other six people are currently asymptomatic. All seven cases are in isolation at the Tabubil Hospital with no further cases confirmed today.

COVID-19 cases force Ok Tedi Mine suspension

This has occurred despite Ok Tedi implementing a shutdown of all charter flights in and out of Tabubil on Tuesday 28 July 2020. This action was taken in response to the escalation of positive cases in Port Moresby, and with intent of protecting our workforce, our community and our operation.

The source of transmission is a person who travelled from Port Moresby to Kiunga on Friday 31 July 2020 on a commercial airline. Unfortunately, one of the positive cases in Tabubil is an employee who inadvertently caught the virus from a close contact of the Kiunga traveller.

OTML medivacs man with severe burns

Gat, who is in his 50s, endured three nights of excruciating pain after both his feet were severely burnt when he collapsed and fell into a fire on Friday 12 June.

Gat suffers from epilepsy, a medical condition that has affected him since he was a child. He said, while still lying in his stretcher waiting to be transferred to an ambulance at the Tabubil airport that it was most likely epilepsy that caused him to collapse.

Ok Tedi Mine continues to operate

Graham made these remarks after Papua New Guinea announced on Thursday 16th April that it had five new COVID-19 cases, of which three were from border villages adjacent to the mine’s Bige dredging project in the Western Province.

Graham said none of the three cases are employees or contractors of OTML.

MP dissatisfied with O’Neill’s response

During Parliament’s first sitting, Western Governor Taboi Awi Yoto asked for their share of the 2017 dividends from Ok Tedi Mine.

PM O’Neill responded by saying the Government is still holding onto the 33 percent share equity in Ok Tedi for the people of Western, including their dividends.

“As a Member of Parliament for the host district of the Ok Tedi Mine, I am not happy with that kind of response from a prime minister,” MP James Donald said.

Ok Tedi shares yet to be fully transferred: O’Neill

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill revealed this when asked by Governor for Western, Taboi Awi Yoto, over their share of the 2017 dividends from Ok Tedi Mine.

The Governor said since the announcement of the share transfer and subsequent dividend announcement since production resumed, they have yet to receive a toea.

Governor Yoto asked the Prime Minister yesterday in Parliament over the status of the shares and dividend payment.

​Western Province ministers visit Ok Tedi

Governor Taboi Awi Yoto, Minister for Correctional Services and Member for Middle Fly Roy Biyama, Member for North Fly James Donald and South Fly MP Seki Agisa visited the site on September 6 and 7.

“It was particularly pleasing to be able to host this important government delegation to visit Ok Tedi,” said Ok Tedi MD/CEO Peter Graham.