South Sea Gold: Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-one

Morning headline: MAGISTRATE DISMISSES CLAIMS AGAINST EDITOR

"Damn the Torpedoes" is not a terrorist threat

"The prosecution's case against The Journal's editor, Jon Sinto, fell apart yesterday when Magistrate Peter Magoro pointed out that the Constitution of our nation guarantees freedom of the press. He made no comment on where or how the accusations against our editor might have originated, leaving courtroom spectators guessing.

"The Jourmal, with nothing but recent anonymous threats to go on, is also left guessing. Is someone with government connections attempting to sabotage the paper's mine safety campaign​? Does someone object to the preservation of PNG's industrial diversity?"

Tom Akani's front page item went on to summarize recent developments in the rapidly expanding mining industry and the effects, both good and bad, on other local commerce. He ended with the comment, "What will it take to remedy the on-going pollution that the mining companies continue to ignore?"

In morning staff meeting, someone proposed a betting pool for which mine would be the next to have a pollution crisis. Early odds favored the huge mines, reasoning that dumping more than a thousand tonnes per day of waste rock and tailings would be a sure bet, sooner or later. A few bet on the newcomers, pointing out their tendency toward speed and cost cutting. No one chose the Owego, believing that lightning rarely strikes the same place twice.

They were wrong.

Li Kao Hsai, regional manager of South Sea Gold for Papua New Guinea, was on his weekly conference call to Mr. Han in Hong Kong. "Good news and bad news this week Sir," he declared.

"Let's have the good news first," growled the Hong Kong CEO. He bit back a comment that good news would be a refreshing first-time experience.

"We have reports on two more drill holes into the main ore body," said Li. "The gold and copper values are holding well, so far. Drill hole 16-B shows a significant content of the mineral molybdenite as well, with trace amounts of rhenium, just like our mine farther up the coast. You asked for rhenium last week; looks like you have got it."

. "What percentage?"

"A single drill hole can't give the full picture, but they think the molybdenum in the ore zone will run about four kilograms per tonne. Rhenium will usually be present as about 0.1 per cent of that, so maybe around four grams per tonne of ore. At market price of US $3,500 per kilogram for rhenium, that adds about fourteen American dollars value per tonne of ore."

Mr. Han was calculating his own possible benefit from this new find, when Li added, "Ready for the bad news, sir?"

The CEO laid down his pocket calculator with a sigh. "Let's have it."

"The land slide a couple weeks ago? There's been another, same place. Our temporary patch on the slurry pipeline now lies crushed under a meter of dirt and boulders. We're working to clear the rocks, but the pipe was badly hit. There's a lot of slurry leakage in the area. We'll have to shut down the pipeline until we can get sturdier plastic pipe in to replace it."

"Reduce the pipe pressure, but don't shut it down entirely," ordered the Hong Kong CEO. "Keep the copper coming."

After Li ended the call, he wondered how much of the overall picture was getting through to his boss. Nevertheless, he passed the instructions along to the day-shift manager at the mine, who reduced the pipe pressure by half, and doubled the hours of flow per day to compensate.

Inspector Kerro had come to a dead end in the Journal threats case. None of the usual information sources on the streets of Port Moresby seemed to know anything about the gang who had beaten Tom Akani and raped Maxine Edon. He checked with a constable who had interviewed Maxine after her assault.

"Nothing new, Inspector. I interviewed Maxine again yesterday and she can only remember that the short man who pointed the way back to the newspaper office was called 'Petey'. She doesn't remember him speaking to her, just pointed and then followed her at a distance. When she looked back from the door of the news building, he was gone."

"Anybody in our records fitting the description?" asked Kerro.

"I already looked. There's an eighteen-year-old named Petey who's been questioned a couple of times on petty thievery cases―cigarettes and the like―but no assaults or serious stuff, so far."

"If you can find him, bring him in for questioning," said Kerro.

"Will do, Inspector."

Two days later, he appeared at Kerro's office again. "Petey's here, Inspector."

Kerro rose from his desk. "Let's go see him."

Petey sat in an interrogation room chair, eyes down and sullen. He glanced up, saw another police uniform, looked down again.

"Petey, I'm Police Inspector Kerro."

"I haven't done anything."

"We just want to ask you some questions."

"I don't know anything."

"Some people say you do. Some people have been beat up lately."

"I didn't do it."

"But you were there. You saw it happen."

Petey said nothing. Kerro tried again. "Who are you afraid of, Petey? I can help you." He paused. "Those other three guys play rough, don't they?"

Petey nodded, eyes still downcast.

"They're headed for a dead end, Petey. Their dead end. Don't make it be yours too. Get out of it while you can."

"I'm scared they'll kill me!"

"The sooner we can get them, the sooner you won't have to worry about them any more. You can help make it happen."

Petey was silent. Kerro waited. Finally he heard the boy sigh, and in a small voice ask, "Can I have a cigarette?"

Kerro visited Tom and Kim Akani that evening. Morrie was already in bed and there was time for a quiet conversation. "This is confidential, and I didn't want to discuss it in the newspaper office or over the phone," Kerro said. Today we picked up one of the men we suspect was involved in the attack on Maxine. He confirms that it's the same men who attacked you, Tom, and says they plan more. He doesn't know who they work for; he's a petty thief who went along for the excitement; now he's afraid of being killed for what he knows. I don't want to alarm you, but I thought you ought to be aware of the risk of staying here at home until we can bring these guys in."

"Any idea when that will be?"

"We have to find them first," Kerro said. There was meditative silence. Kim went to check on Morrie. Tom knew his wife well enough to know that she would not rest easily in town.

Finally Tom spoke. "Kim has a leave of absence from her teaching job," he told Jason, "for health reasons, which is still technically true, I guess, if you consider possible physical attacks to be a health problem." Kim had returned to the room and was listening. Tom continued, "I'm still tied up with the Owego story and mining. I wish there was some solution that could keep us together."

"Sophia told me about the problem Owego has with the promised school that hasn't been built," said Kim. "Is there some way we could improvise a one-room temporary school house where I could teach, while you work on conditions at the mine?"

"I don't think I'd be welcome in Owego village," said Tom.

"Then set it up in the village where Matt and Sophia stayed. The villages are only two km apart. That's not too far for most kids to walk."

"What about schoolbooks? Where do we stay and how do we eat?" asked Tom.

"I know something about school administration," said Kerro. "My father used to be a headmaster in Mt. Hagen, you know. Let me see what I can find out."

"And I still get a paycheck," added Tom.

"It would be like a trial run for a few weeks, to see how parents accept the idea of their kids going to school," said Kim. "I know that some parents want their children to help in their gardens or fields. Maybe just learning to read at first, an hour or two a day. See what the village elders want."

Jon Sinto agreed with the idea next day. "Matt needs to be in on this, to keep up his reporting for the Hong Kong paper," he said. "And Sophia can be your office liaison here."