The proposed Wafi-Golpu copper and gold mine is located in the Morobe province in Papua New Guinea. If approved, it could become one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world. The Post-Courier reported on June 25th, 2026 that the Wafi-Golpu copper and gold project is in the ‘final stages’ of locking down the Wafi Golpu Mine Development Contract – a deal that will trigger the Special Mining Lease and a $4.5 billion construction pathway for one of the planet’s largest copper and gold deposits.

The mine is planned to be located in the mountains of Morobe Province, approximately 65 kilometres south-west of the city of Lae.

The mine’s proponents plan to dump more than 360 million tonnes of mine tailings into the ocean of the Huon Gulf over 28 years.

The project is being spearheaded by the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture, which involves Australian registered companies, Newcrest Mining Ltd, based in Perth, and Harmony Gold (Australia) Pty Ltd, based in Brisbane. The Australian companies are owned by Newmont Corporation, a large American mining company, and Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, based in South Africa.

Tailings are waste materials left after the target mineral is extracted from ore. They consist of crushed rock, trace quantities of metals, water, and additives used in processing, such as petroleum by-products, sulfuric acid and can include cyanide (when it is used in projects).

The tailings of Wafi-Golpu will include arsenic, lead, manganese and mercury, among other heavy metals. These could be absorbed into the food chain and impact upon people’s health.

This method of dumping mining waste is called ‘Deep Sea Tailings Placement’ or ‘DSTP’ by its proponents. In reality, this project is not placing the waste into the deep sea at all – but dumping it into waters 200 metres deep, approximately the same depth as the Australian continental shelf. The use of oceans tailings disposal is not legal in Australia and is used by only a handful of mines worldwide.

Over the course of 28 years, the amount to be dumped will be more than the weight of 35,600 Eiffel Towers, which if placed end to end, would stretch further than from Auckland to Beijing.

Communities across the Huon Gulf region have been opposing this proposal for years and have been advocating with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, saying ‘We say no to DSTP’.

Today, we continue to stand with communities of the Huon Gulf and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. We are calling on Newmont and Harmony Gold to abandon their plans to dump hundreds of millions of tonnes of tailings into the ocean.

Development should not come at such a high cost for the environment, communities and future generations.

As the Church has made clear:

“We do not want our people to suffer or die in the name of development.”

— Reverend Dr. Jack Urame

“We don’t want our children and grandchildren to be left with a dead sea. We don’t want toxic chemicals and heavy metals to make them sick, and unable to make an income. We are standing firm.”

— Reverend Yasam Aiwara

Head of Jabem District, Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG

“The sea is our life. It is our supermarket, our income, our identity and culture. Take away the sea, and you take away our life.”

— Jotham Fuba Keleino

WHY WE NEED TO STOP OCEAN TAILINGS DISPOSAL

THE MINE’S INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD RUN THROUGH AN EARTHQUAKE ZONE

The Wafi-Golpu project proposes a massive pipeline and infrastructure corridor stretching more than 103 kilometres across Morobe Province — from the mountains, through rivers and farmland, directly through the city of Lae, and to the sea. This pipeline would carry tailings every day for decades. But Morobe Province earthquakes are frequent and flooding is common. Two fault lines stretch across this seismically active province. The risks are real. Despite this, the project has failed to fully assess the dangers of building a pipeline corridor, including a tailings waste pipeline, through such an environment. If the pipelines rupture, tailings could spill into rivers, food systems, homes, and communities with devastating consequences.

A HEALTHY OCEAN IS ESSENTIAL — NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE

More than 400,000 people live along the Huon Gulf coastline. Thousands of families rely on the ocean every day to feed their households and earn an income, whether through small-scale subsistence fishing, local markets, or supplying larger commercial buyers in Lae. The proposed waste dumping site overlaps directly with these fishing grounds, leading to questions regarding potential contamination and declining fish stocks, and fears that unsafe seafood could disrupt entire systems of trade and subsistence. Communities have expressed deep concern that even the perception of pollution could collapse local markets and export industries, cutting off livelihoods overnight. For many, there is no alternative source of income or food.

THE COMMUNITY HAS NOT CONSENTED

The companies behind Wafi-Golpu have failed to secure Free, Prior and Informed Consent from the communities most impacted by the project. Many people along the Huon Gulf say they were never given clear, complete, or honest information about the project or its risks. In some cases, communities only discovered the truth years later and the widespread impacts that this project can have. In Yanga Village, the community did not know for years that the pipeline would run through their village. This is not just a failure of consultation — it is a violation of rights. “We, the people of Yanga Village… NEVER gave our CONSENT. This is our customary land.” — Yanga Village Declaration

PEOPLE’S HEALTH COULD BE AT RISK

Over the life of the mine, more than 360 million tonnes of tailings will be discharged into the ocean. These tailings contain toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and manganese. The companies also plan to dump billions of litres of filtrate, with unspecified content, into the waters at Lae’s Port. This may include chemicals used in the mining process many of which are harmful to marine life and human health. As exposure increases over time, the risks to human health grow, particularly for children and future generations.