Entire villages would be wiped out if natural disaster hit dam on PNG mine, critics say

Rocks under where the dam will be built is not safe ... If there is a fault in the structure, the dam will give way,' says West Sepik official

A proposed dam to hold billions of tonnes of mine waste near the head of Papua New Guinea's longest river is a potential environmental disaster that could wipe out entire villages if there was a natural disaster, government officials, environmental advocacy groups and villagers living along the river say.

The Frieda River gold and copper mine - slated for development by Chinese state-owned, Australian-based miner PanAust for northern New Guinea island - would be the largest mine in PNG's history, and one of the biggest in the world.