Copper in the fly river system (Papua new guinea) as influenced by discharges of mine residue: Overview of the study and preliminary findings

Abstract

An overview is presented of a study to quantify the impact of a gold‐copper mine on the Fly river in Papua New Guinea. Copper concentrations have increased to several hundreds μg/g in the suspended matter but decrease downstream. The decrease is caused by admixtures of non‐polluted sediments. Excellent agreement is found between mixing ratio's determined from field surveys and from a natural tracer study. Laboratory and field measurement indicate that dissolved copper concentrations will decrease once gold production stops and only copper concentrate is produced.