Ok Tedi suit settled out of court

A class-action lawsuit launched in Victoria state, Australia, against Ok Tedi Mines and BHP Billiton (BHP-N), has been dismissed.

The suit alleged Ok Tedi — the operating company at the giant Ok Tedi copper-gold mine in Western Province, Papua New Guinea — had breached an agreement that settled a previous class-action lawsuit. That earlier lawsuit, brought by a group of local residents, had claimed damages from the environmental impact of mine operations, particularly silting in the Fly and Ok Tedi Rivers.

Complete details of the new settlement were not made public, but the plaintiffs have dropped their claim that the operating company and BHP (which previously owned a 52% interest in Ok Tedi) were in breach of the agreement. A court-approved dismissal of the new class action is scheduled for January.

BHP’s interest is now held by the PNG Sustainable Development program; the Papua New Guinean government owns 30% and Inmet Mining (IMN-T) the remaining 18%.