DON'T POISON OUR SEA, OUR LIFE AND OUR FUTURE (2026)
The report 'Don’t poison our sea, our life and our future: Wafi-Golpu, ocean dumping and the rise of the people', identifies key environmental and human rights issues with the proposed Wafi-Golpu mine. This report was produced in response to the announcement that Newmont under its joint venture with Harmony Gold is in its final stages of securing a mine development contract which will trigger a special mining lease and cost $4.5 billion to develop.
The Wafi-Golpu copper and gold mine is proposed to be located in the mountains of the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, and is anticipated to become one of the largest copper-gold mines in the world. The companies driving the project are seeking to dump the mine’s ground up waste – its tailings – into the ocean. In reality, the dumping of the tailings is not occurring in the deep sea at all, but approximately only 200 metres deep. The tailings will contain unknown quantities of heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, nickel, mercury, zinc and other heavy metals. Over 28 years, the estimated 360 million tonnes of tailings from the mine would be dumped into the ocean. The dumping of waste into the Huon Gulf and the building of pipelines through communities and the city of Lae will have catastrophic and possibly irreversible effects on people's livelihoods, health and ecosystems. Communities are actively opposing the mine development as they were not adequately consulted in the process and not made aware of the impacts it will have on their lives.
This report finds that it would be more appropriate that Newmont and Harmony Gold develop a viable alternative tailings management approach that will not involve the dumping of any mining waste into the sea.  It places investors and other supporters of the project on notice. Many of these details have been hidden in a large technical document in the form of the project’s Environment Impact Statement, and key details of this project have not been brought to light.
The Wafi-Golpu copper and gold mine is proposed to be located in the mountains of the Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, and is anticipated to become one of the largest copper-gold mines in the world. The companies driving the project are seeking to dump the mine’s ground up waste – its tailings – into the ocean. In reality, the dumping of the tailings is not occurring in the deep sea at all, but approximately only 200 metres deep. The tailings will contain unknown quantities of heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, nickel, mercury, zinc and other heavy metals. Over 28 years, the estimated 360 million tonnes of tailings from the mine would be dumped into the ocean. The dumping of waste into the Huon Gulf and the building of pipelines through communities and the city of Lae will have catastrophic and possibly irreversible effects on people's livelihoods, health and ecosystems. Communities are actively opposing the mine development as they were not adequately consulted in the process and not made aware of the impacts it will have on their lives.
This report finds that it would be more appropriate that Newmont and Harmony Gold develop a viable alternative tailings management approach that will not involve the dumping of any mining waste into the sea.  It places investors and other supporters of the project on notice. Many of these details have been hidden in a large technical document in the form of the project’s Environment Impact Statement, and key details of this project have not been brought to light.