Alluvial gold mining in Kaintiba

Alluvial gold mining in Kaintiba

The National

20th November 2006

By HENZY YAKHAM

WITH the gold price averaging US$622 (K1,943) per ounce, Kamea-language speaking people in the Gulf province have been urged to seriously consider going into alluvial gold mining.

Sam Wenive, chairman of the Kamea Land Resources Association, said with the rise in the price of gold, there was no better time for the people to go into serious alluvial mining than today.

"The rise in the price for gold makes it attractive for the local resource owners to be serious in alluvial gold mining," Mr Wenive said in Port Moresby yesterday.

He said while the Government continued to review the fiscal regime on mining industry to make it attractive for foreign investors, local resource owners should take advantage of the current world gold prices.

Mr Wenive recently bought a water pump and gave it to the alluvial miners in the Putie area of Kaintiba district to help them find gold.

"We've started with only one pump to help the miners," he said.

"In the absence of Government help, we have to organise ourselves and develop our natural resources by ourselves," Mr Wenive said.

"People need to look in their rivers and mountains for alluvial gold and take advantage of the high gold prices now."

He said alluvial mining could bring about benefits, including:

lHelping rural eco-nomies with direct cash income from gold sold;

lCreating more jobs and business opportunities for the local people;

lGenerating more money for the people to pay for goods and services, including school fees and medical expenses; and

lContributing to Papua New Guinea's revenue

Mr Wenive said people did not have to wait for foreign companies to mine their gold. All they had to do is use simple mining techniques such as sluicing and panning, Mr Wineve said.