Chapter 2 Texture, Geochemistry, and Mineralogy of Sediments of the Fly River System (original) (raw)

Developments in Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2008

Abstract

The Fly River system in western Papua New Guinea is one of the largest river systems in world with an annual sediment discharge estimated at 100×106 t. Located at the headwaters of the Ok Tedi, a tributary of the Fly River, is the Mount Fubilan copper-gold mine. The mine, which uses open-cut methods to exploit a low-grade porphyry ore body, commenced operations in 1984. Waste materials from mining operations comprising approximately 55 Mt of overburden and 30 Mt of ex-mill tailings, are discharged each year into the Ok Tedi. Erosional and fluvial processes then transport a large proportion of this waste into the lower reaches of the river system where it is either deposited in a range of riverine settings or released into the marine waters of the Gulf of Papua and Torres Strait. This chapter examines the impact of mining at Mount Fubilan on the texture, geochemistry, and mineralogy of the sediments deposited in the channel bed and along the levees of the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers.

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