Strickland River
Encyclopedia
The Strickland River is a river
in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea
, and is the largest tributary
of the Fly River
.
, run by Barrick Gold
, is a mine
near the Strickland, which is the source of environmental concerns in the area. Since 1992, Barrick Gold has dumped mine waste, particularly metal particulates or tailings
, directly into the river. This process of riverine disposal by the mine has led to much controversy, with numerous deaths and environmental problems being blamed on the metal particulates.
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in the Western Province 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...
, and is the largest tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Fly River
Fly River
The Fly at , is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. The Fly is the largest river in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall ranks as the twenty-fifth largest river in the world by volume of discharge...
.
Environmental concerns
The Porgera Gold MinePorgera Gold Mine
The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea , located at the head of the Porgera Valley. The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,700 m, in a region of high rainfall, landslides, and frequent...
, run by Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest pure gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and four regional business units located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America...
, is a mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
near the Strickland, which is the source of environmental concerns in the area. Since 1992, Barrick Gold has dumped mine waste, particularly metal particulates or tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
, directly into the river. This process of riverine disposal by the mine has led to much controversy, with numerous deaths and environmental problems being blamed on the metal particulates.