There are claims in Papua New Guinea that a state of emergency needs to be declared in the Porgera District in Enga Province.
The Post Courier newspaper quotes the Porgera Development Authority chairman, Nixon Mangape, as saying that if the the lawlessness in the district is not brought under control it will have a major impact on the Porgera gold mine.
He says Porgera is in total chaos and they would need 200 policemen to effectively contain the rapidly escalating law and order problems in the district.
But the owners of Porgera Joint Venture, Barrick Gold, say while there are ongoing law and order problems there's no immediate security threat to their employees.
Mr Mangape and other landowners have been in Port Moresby to try and convince the government to declare a state of emergency.
Earlier this week, the government declared a state of emergency in southern highlands province amid concerns of corruption in the provincial administration.
