Reporting for theangle.org, Independent photojournalist Damian Baker examines life in Porgera Valley, a once-pristine region in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea—now ravaged through multinational gold mining.
In late August, a coalition of indigenous groups and landowners in Papua New Guinea announced their plan to shut down the open pit gold mine on their territory, unless the company who owns the mine, Canada’s Barrick Gold, responded positively to a petition they filed with the PNG Government.
The landowners described the petition as a “boil over” from enduring years of deprivation and marginalization, which has included the denial of access to fresh water, being subjected to abuses and having traditional practices criminalized. Toxic waste from the mine is also being dumped into the local river system. In effect, people in Porgera Valley are dying a slow death while Barrick Gold makes its millions.
Among many points raised in the petition, the landowners asked Barrick Gold to pay for their resettlement, and to stop fencing off their territory and halt any new expansion projects.
The eviction was going to be carried out in September, however, according Sakura Saunders, the editor of Damian Baker says the September deadline was extended another 30 days, “to late October when local residents plan a peaceful sit in.” Baker adds that many people hold fears over “how police and security will react if the sit in does eventuate.”
For updates and more information on Barrick gold in Papua New Guinea, see Protestbarrick.net.
Reports by Damian Baker
- Porgera Gold Mine: Killings and Burnt Villages
- Ipili & the Porgera Valley
- Porgera: PNG Paradise Lost
- (VIDEO) Porgera Valley PNG: Paradise Lost
John Ahniwanika Schertow is an indigenous rights activist of Mohawk (Kanienkehaka) and mixed-European descent. For the past 8 years, he has served as the e... 
Papuan is a cover term for the various indigenous peoples of New Guinea and neighboring islands, speakers of the so-called Papuan languages. There are well over one... 
Terrible situation indeed, being a indegenuos, its saddenning to see corpations first culture has been developed in PNG… with unlimited extractive industries marching in.
My word to investors and shareholders of those mining corporations eg; Barricks, Harmony, BHP and Emporer mines etc…
YOUR FAT EARNED DIVIDENT’S ARE STAINED WITH MY SIMPLE PEOPLES BLOOD AND SUFFRINGS… may you enjoy at ease…
Apart from Bougainville,,,,,
How many lessons does PNG government needs to learn ?????? WAKE UP!!!!
Our leaders a like are little kids that the old people take big think and cheet them with lollies and twisties… Foreigners are considering our leaders as kids by giving them 10 toea lollies and getting the big back of kaukau\rice from us…even though we are 35 years old enough to control ourself but we still doing the same thing. The only thing we need to do is to snipe all the baby sence leaders who are thing about themself and not the six million people of this country.