The Kiunga-Tabubil Highway is an all weather gravel road that runs from the river port town of Kiunga

Kiunga, Papua New Guinea

Kiunga is a port town on the Fly River in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, just upstream from the D'Albertis Junction with the Ok Tedi River. It is the southernmost terminus of the Kiunga-Tabubil Highway. Local industry rests on a cornerstone of freight and haulage, particularly from the...

 through Ningerum

Ningerum

Ningerum is a small town on the Kiunga-Tabubil Highway, about equidistant between the two centres of Kiunga and Tabubil. Ningerum is the seat of the Ningerum Rural LLG, which was the second most populous LLG in the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea during the 2000 census...

 and Tabubil to the Ok Tedi Mine

Ok Tedi Mine

The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea...

 site, in the remote North Fly District

North Fly District, Western Province

The North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea is the northernmost, smallest, and arguably the most remote of the three districts of the province...

 of the Western Province

Western Province (Papua New Guinea)

Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua. The provincial capital is Daru, on the island of Daru. The largest town in the province is Tabubil...

 of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. The road is around 137 kilometres (85 mi) long, but this changes as sections are rehashed.

The "highway" was built in the early 1980s. It is maintained by Ok Tedi Mining Limited

Ok Tedi Mining Limited

Ok Tedi Mining Limited is a Company from Papua New Guinea that administers the Ok Tedi Mine in the northern part of the Western Province. Its main office is located in a building known as the White House in Tabubil....

, who are the greatest beneficiaries of the road. The highway, for the most part, runs parallel with the Ok Tedi River

Ok Tedi River

The Ok Tedi is a river in New Guinea. The Ok Tedi Mine is located near the headwaters of the river, which is sourced in the Star Mountains. Nearly the entirety of the river runs through the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, but the river crosses the international...

, which, due to the fact it is a high volume waterway resting on a sand bank, is an incredibly fast moving and volatile river. Parts of the highway are often consumed by the river and need to be rebuilt. The cost of maintaining this road is K1.5 million a year, in a region where people have an average annual income of about K50 a year.

There is a copper slurry

Slurry

A slurry is, in general, a thick suspension of solids in a liquid.-Examples of slurries:Examples of slurries include:* Lahars* A mixture of water and cement to form concrete* A mixture of water, gelling agent, and oxidizers used as an explosive...

pipeline running along the full length of the road from the mine site north of Tabubil down to the port of Kiunga.