We are now on Lihir Island, an island off the coast of New Ireland which feels almost totally controlled, run or governed by the Lihir Mining company. A large gold mine, hugely deep (600m below sea level) and growing, astonishes us with massive mountainous reserves of gold-rich rock- The lonely planet summed it up by describing it as resembling "a mayan gold pyramid". Here we are surprised to have found a bit of a political geeks dream of interest (as an onlooker)- full of tales of political conflict and activity. There is obvious racial and wealth disparity, some serious (authoritarian) town planning, a classic example of resource depletion, local villages and company conflicts and of course serious industrial action striking. We have been met with much kindness and it is clear they do not get many visitors, we stand out strongly - obvious strangers - with not many young women visitors in a mining population where the gender difference in numbers are massive.

The first thing we noticed as we strolled through this company town was the amount of money, seen in the nice buses and roads, the well stocked supermarkets and only western buildings existing. They even had large expanses of lawns (not a common sight in PNG, machetes being the lawnmower of the majority). It feels like there is more infrastructure here than the rest of New Ireland put together. The second thing we observed were the camps, intense security and barbed wire between the camp buildings surround long lodges of 20 rooms on each side, each room housing 1 or 2 miners. There are three camps sardining over 1000 people each, and a forth being built. To be completely honest we wondered what the difference would be if it was a prison camp, three strands of barbed wire on top of an 8 foot chain link fence sure makes it look that way. A man described to us that the people in these camps are the "low" men, and the houses on the hill are for the "high" men or the "whites", which he let slip out. Later we took a stroll through both the camps (strictly 15 minutes and aided by a security guard) having a closer look through the proletariat conditions, communal massive cafeteria at camp two and rows of cramped rooms. As well as lingering briefly in the bourgeois hang out, an amazing view from the deck of the "country" club we visited, with a giant swimming pool, tennis and squash courts that made any resort we have seen in PNG look like a cheap backpackers- utterly superior to the proletariat workers conditions.

No doubt this company town has major wealth inequality and a bit of a class system. However the people living in these camps will be getting paid more than they do elsewhere so perhaps there are not so many ill-feelings regarding these conditions. The security guard we talked to seemed pretty relaxed about the disparities. Still, what a way of life. For him its 6 weeks on and then two weeks off with his family in Rabaul, when he's at work he works every day for the 6 weeks, 12 hour days 4.30am-4.30pm. The mine runs around the clock with two 12 hour shifts.

As we continued to look around, public notices and signs popped up in different places, plenty of rules and regulations about public places and the way of life. All controlled by the Lihir goldmining company. This strictly controlled town planning and "police state" security made this company town feel like an authoritarian town with a lack of any form of local democracy or participation in the town rules. But on the plus side of having such a centralised control was the planning of this place being meticulous with a well-formed sewage station behind camp two and well marked zones of erosion. We met a man who was a town planner and he told us his job was to look at the continuation of the town after the mine had gone - apparently this was part of an arrangement with the local Lihir people or land when they decided to lease the land to the company. In some ways it made us think of what it may have been like in 19th century and early 20th century mining towns in New Zealand. Reminding us of the tensions and injustices in that space and time such as blackball. THe important historic and political effect that formed the birth place of the Labour movement in New Zealand and the Labour Party.

The most impressive thing is the scale of the entire operation. A major production line. Two wharves, an airport, roads, power, petrol stations, supermarkets, worker accommodation, senior management housing, water supplies, schools, cafeterias, bars, sewage treatment. Not to mention the steam power plant, gold processing plant and mine itself, which we may have a chance to visit tomorrow. From a distance today we saw some of the huge trucks they use that drive up and down the 'pit', loaded with rock. As well as strange pipes spewing out steam, pressure release we are told, the area is volcanic. The mine itself is only a few hundred meters from the shore which creates another problem, three huge pumps operate continuously to pump seawater out of the deepest sections of the mine. All this on an island in the middle of nowhere, far from civilisation - and all built since 1995!

We took a bus to the processing area hoping to get a tour of the mine, wandering around and talking to various levels of security about getting a temporary visitor pass. The whole place was a raw industrial site. The ore coming down a long conveyer belt. Once it is refined the gold goes straight to Port Moresby. Eventually we found out that there was "trouble" going on at the mine and so we would not be able to visit today. It was then quite difficult to find out exactly what this "trouble" was but eventually we found out that it was nothing other than industrial action. The local Lihir workers were striking because of what they saw as unfair reparations to the landowning Lihir people, the Lihir mining company not paying enough. A bit of a convoluted issue perhaps. It is different to western employers individualistic view of industrial relations ie. expecting strikes for better working conditions or pay, but instead its about support for the local people. We have not visited the village yet but from here we can see that it looks like an ordinary PNG village and in that sense perhaps has not shared in much the wealth that the mine gains. The majority of workers however apparently come from throughout PNG, we are not sure how much solidarity is going on. Later we talked to some one higher up in the chain of command who said - It was more of a "talks" than a strike. Although it did feel like he was glossing over things.

Mining is a major boost to PNG and the much larger copper mine on neighboring Bougainville Island that has been the center of a major conflict. Apparently a lot of workers that used to work at Bougainville now work here. On the island of Bougainville the mine is said to be one of the biggest man made holes in the world, however the mine has not reopened after the war. Sparked by the Panguna Landowners Association, who demanded billions of dollars in reparations for the mining activity and spawned the Bougainville Revolutionary Army to press home attacks against the mine. The situation escalated massively, the government sent in troops, the mine closed down, PNG withdrew its troops and blockaded the island and even secretly contracted international mercenaries to attempt to put down the rebels (a decision which resulted in the resignation of then-Prime Minister Julius Chan). You may know of this conflict through reading the dreadful book called Mr pip. The conflict even spilled over into parts of the northern Solomon Islands (to international outcry). It's interesting to arrive at this mine during "discussions" about the same basic topic, payments to the local people, discussions which are clearly heated enough to have prevented us visiting the mine and processing plant today. Perhaps the similarity with Bouganville is the reason for the intense security here.

The Bougainville mine remains closed to this day, but there is speculation that someday it might reopen when the political situation there is calmer.