A huge copper and gold mining project being developed in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea has been shut down.
Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Photo: Supplied
The management of the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture suspended exploration activity after a group, claiming to be landowners, had threatened on Friday to enter the site.
According to the Post Courier newspaper the group is opposed to a memorandum of understanding signed by the PNG government and the developer last month.
Activities at the exploration site are currently suspended pending assurances that law and order has been re-established.
The Mining Minister Johnson Tuke said the shutdown was uncalled for and the behaviour of the group protesting was a criminal act.