Why did Panguna mine close?
In 1989, amid rising community anger at the environmental damage and the inequitable division of the mine’s profits, locals forced the mine closed, blowing up Panguna’s power lines and sabotaging operations.
Who owns the Panguna mine?
Rio Tinto has not had access to the mine for over 30 years. In 2016, Rio Tinto transferred its 53.83% majority shareholding in BCL to the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government for no consideration, enabling the ABG and PNG to hold an equal share in BCL of 36.4% each.
Will Panguna mine reopen?
The Autonomous Bougainville Government has secured an agreement with local landowners to move ahead with plans to reopen the vast open-cut copper mine in the central mountains of Bougainville Island that was at the centre of a destructive decade-long conflict between Bougainville and PNG that ended in 2001.
What type of mine is Panguna?
copper mine
The Panguna mine is a large copper mine located in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in the east of Papua New Guinea. Panguna represents one of the largest copper reserves in Papua New Guinea and in the world, having an estimated reserve of one billion tonnes of ore copper and twelve million ounces of gold.
What raw material was mined at the Panguna mine?
Panguna, mining town and site of a large open-pit copper mine in the south-central interior of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. An Australian mining company began prospecting for copper in the Crown Prince Range at Panguna in the early 1960s.
When did Panguna mine open?
1972
The mine at Panguna was opened in 1972 and was majority-owned by Rio Tinto. The mine was vitally important to the economy of Papua New Guinea. The PNG national government received a 20% share of profit from the mine, of which the Bougainvilleans received 5% – 1.25% share of the total profit.
Who owns Bougainville copper?
About Bougainville Copper Ltd The Company is owned approximately 53.83% by Rio Tinto Limited. The Papua New Guinea Government owns approximately 19.06% while public shareholders hold the remaining 27.11% of the share capital.
Is Bougainville mine open?
The mine was abandoned by BCL/Rio Tinto in 1990, and the secessionist Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) took over the mine site. The mine has remained closed ever since.
Who owns Bougainville Copper?
What is Bougainville crisis?
The Bougainville conflict, also known as the Bougainville Civil War, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups on …
Who owns the Bougainville mine?
Today’s BCL The people of PNG and Bougainville have a significant stake in Bougainville Copper, with the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) holding a 36.4 per cent share in the company, as does the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Who mined Bougainville?
Discovery of copper deposits in the 1960s led to the establishment of a huge copper mine on the island of Bougainville by Conzinc Riotinto Australia (CRA). The Panguna open cut mine was at that time the largest in the world.