Nautilus Cares?

The PR motto plastered across Nautilus Minerals website recently is Nautilus Cares. But you wouldn't know it from how they are treating local Papua New Guinea stakeholders.

Last Wednesday, January 21, nearly 100 community leaders from the entire maritime region (coastal and offshore islands) of Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, gathered in the town of Madang to participate in a seafloor mining warden’s meeting scheduled by Nautilus Minerals. Getting this many local PNG stakeholders together for a meeting, many of whom still live subsistence-based lives, is no small feat. So you might imagine that it came as both a shock and frustration to find that no mining warden, no government officer, and no representatives for Nautilus Minerals showed up to meet the gathered community leaders and other local stakeholders.

A notice was apparently posted that morning (at the provincial government notice board, not at the provincial headquarters where the meeting was to be held) that a new meeting would be held on Tuesday, January 27.

So what do nearly 100 angry PNG stakeholders do after getting the brush off by Nautilus Minerals and the PNG government? They hold an impromptu press conference.

Community leaders convened a press conference right there in a car park at the provincial headquarters and demanded that the postponed mining warden’s hearing happen at a time set and decided by the PNG people, not Nautilus Minerals.

The PNG community leaders managed to get a representative from Madang’s mining office to attend the press conference. He agreed to convey to the Mineral Resources Authority (the PNG government's mining authority) and Nautilus Minerals that future warden’s hearings will have to happen at a time convenient to and agreed upon by the stakeholders.

The leaders demanded that the Mineral Resources Authority and Nautilus Minerals consider reimbursing transport fares for all community leaders present. A list was assembled which will be submitted to the Mineral Resources Authority along with a bill for reimbursement at the postponed warden’s hearing. Adding to more frustration was that fact that the PNG people had to fly in Dr Brian Brunton (a lawyer representing/advising stakeholder interests) from the capital city of Port Moresby. The postponement of the warden’s hearing means that local stakeholders will have to dig deeper into their pockets to fly him back.

Many related issues were voiced at the press conference, such as the affirmation that the marine environment and natural resources of PNG are an extremely important life-source for the Madang maritime/coastal peoples.

Two media personnel present to cover all the action at the press conference were Patrick Matbob (Divine Word University’s School of Journalism) and Rosalyn Evara (Madang-based free lance journalist and feature writer). There was also video documentation of the entire event.

Some community/peoples groups represented were, Madang Pipols Forum, Bismarck Solomon Seas Indigenous Peoples Council, Madang Lagoon Association, Idawad Association, Bogia Cooperative Society, Ramu River Resource Conservation and Management Authority, North Coast, Far North Coast, Mum Community Development Authority, Gildipasi Plening Komiti, Manam Islanders, Karkar Islanders, Bagabag Islanders, Long Islanders, Madang Coast, Astrolabe Bay & Rai Coast. There was presence also from the Madang Civil Society Organisations Forum (MCSOF), WWF’s Madang office, Coral Reef Alliance, and the Bismarck Ramu Group.