For years, the Bougainville government has asked the company to make contributions to help with the clean up. Former PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare provided the court with a sworn affidavit stating that it was Rio Tinto calling the shots during the war. Shareholding. The mine was also at the center of a decade-long civil … The Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2002 that the mine was pumping 110 million cubic meters of waste, contaminated with cyanide and other chemicals, into the sea each year. The UAE has officially approved a Sinopharm vaccine, while there are promising unofficial results from Sinovac’s Indonesia trial. Earlier this year I met representatives from Fortescue mining, but I have been waiting 10 months for them to make a commitment.”. Every foreigner that enters Panguna with mine re-opening interests chats with crisis-created elite or the members of the Panguna Landowners Association (many of whom are BCL’s old ‘local friends’) and then return to spill their bias in-house chit-chat to the media as a break-through towards the re-opening of the Panguna mine. Rio Tinto has refused. Panguna landowners accused the company of genocide, citing the company’s support for the blockade of the island by PNG forces. Before the war, the Panguna mine generated more than $1 billion in national tax revenue and accounted for about 45 percent of Papua New Guinea’s total exports, 17 percent of its internal revenue, and 12 percent of its gross domestic product. Despite ongoing peace negotiations, the Taliban continue their attacks, recently incorporating weaponized commercially available drones into their arsenal. “BCL was also directly involved in the military operations on Bougainville, and it played an active role. Soldiers burned down villages, executed collaborators, and raped with impunity. Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific. Panguna mine in operation, circa 1971 (Photo: Robert Owen Winkler/Wikimedia Commons) Suspending developments in Panguna aligns with those landowners, such as Lynette Ona, Chairwoman of the Bougainville Indigenous Women’s Landowner Association, who believe the mine should stay closed until … In a public presentation to ward councillors and MPs, filmed by a crew from. The Panguna mine began operations in 1972 and closed in 1989. The joint resolutions has been reaffirmed and resolved on 25th August 2015 in Arawa and signed at Arawa Youth … Over 98 percent of voters in a long-awaited referendum wanted independence. So, too, has the Australian government. The Sandline affair, as it came to be known, was eventually leaked in the Australian media – first there was a public outrage, and then came the resignation of then-PNG Prime Minister Julius Chan. Weekly Update 16 December: Dismissals & owed wages of Philippines fashion workers lead to protests, Chinese Responsible Investment Overseas Newsletter Issue 12, December 2020, Human rights due diligence within the tech sector: Developments and challenges. Seoul has hesitated to tighten restrictions thus far, even as health authorities predict the number of daily cases might top 1,000. Plans to reopen the mine, which could help fund an independent Bougainville, have stalled due to competing claims over development rights over the long-shuttered Panguna mine. It’s estimated that Panguna mine still holds around $60 billion worth of copper, gold, and silver. Its main areas of operation are in Western Australia, but in recent years the company has increased its efforts abroad, especially in South America, where it was granted 32 exploration licenses in Ecuador alone. This is, as long as past mistakes are not forgotten. While India and Pakistan argue and fight over the fate of Kashmir, is anyone listening to the Kashmiris? So, too, has the Australian government. Disclaimer: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and its collaborative partners take no position on the diverse views presented in linked material within the database, nor can we guarantee the factual accuracy of all the articles and reports we make available. It also reveals its weaknesses. People in Panguna, especially the women folk, who have been subtly crying against the move, are now coming out strongly and using stringent measures to stop any attempt by ABG, PLA or BCL to reopen the mine. Also interested in Panguna is the Australia-based RTG Mining Group, which has the support of Philip Miriori, the chairman of the Panguna landowner association. Forrest’s company, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, is the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world. According to Sir Mel Togolo, Executive Chairman of Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL), there is a long way to go before any timeline can be set. No matter the results of the referendum, any company looking to make a buck is sure to find opposition in Panguna. Author: Angela East, Stockhead. Another Mekong dam project threatens to cost the former royal capital its UNESCO World Heritage status. Forrest has friends in high places. Joshua Mcdonald is an award-winning multimedia journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Jaintong's grandchildren are part of Arawa's booming population and reopening the Panguna mine is seen by many as a controversial choice but a vital one for the economic future. Bougainville Copper faces yet another fight to reopen a big PNG mine. When that failed to crush the resistance, PNG, with the support of Australia, enforced a naval blockade cutting the island off from the rest of the world. Authorities fear the reopening of Panguna mine, donated by Rio Tinto in 2016, could open old wounds. With an independence referendum on the horizon, reopening the Panguna mine offers both attractive opportunities and terrible consequences. The Bougainville referendum vote is on course and set for this time next year but the future of the abandoned Panguna Copper Mine is still untenable. June 24, 2018. The new agricultural reforms are a necessity for Indian farmers; the Modi government, however, must do more to ally their fears. ", Events | Jobs | Media | Data Usage & Cookies | Contact Us. Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), under a new regime, is keen on re-opening the Panguna mine with promises of more equitable sharing of wealth with landowners and the Autonomous Bougainville Government, reports the Post Courier. They are, however, united in their opposition to Momis’ plan for Panguna, which would see the government and Australian mining company, Callabus, set up a new joint company that would be given a monopoly over the island’s mineral wealth. In August, 2014, the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) paved the way for reopening the mine, with a new mining law, but last year, Rio Tinto decided to cut its losses and walk away, in the process gifting its 53.8 percent shareholding in BCL—17.4 per cent to the national government, and 36.4 per cent … When that, too, failed the government hired a U.K.-based private military company to carry out its operations in Bougainville. Due to the unrest in the area in the years that followed Rio Tinto’s withdrawal, no official investigation has been conducted on the impact the mining operation has had on the surrounding environment. The conflict cost as many as 15,000 lives and displaced 40,000 of the island's 200,000 inhabitants. But it also needs to work towards making domestic industries competitive. The Government of PNG followed Rio Tinto’s instructions and carried out its’ requests,” he wrote. 6 February 2019. LOCALS FROM BOUGAINVILLE are keen to correct what they see as pro-mine propaganda regarding the reopening of the Panguna mine, warning against misrepresentation of views and a repeat of the bloody violence of the past. Even if the government does plan on operating the mine while mindful of its predecessors’’ mistakes, some parts of history are better off remaining in the grave. An autonomous region in Papua New Guinea, Bougainville is aiming for independence and elected a president who shares that ambition. Author Notes Kylie McKenna is a research fellow with SSGM, and is the author of Corporate Social Responsibility and Natural Resource Conflict (Routledge, in press). It’s estimated that Panguna mine still holds around $60 billion worth of copper, gold, and silver. The anti-mining movement led to a ten-year war in 1989. But Panguna landowners and local employees — angered by the environmental destruction from the operation, poor wages, and unfair distribution of revenue (less than 1 percent of profits were reinvested in Bougainville) — eventually took up arms. Alongside its core work providing a platform for Human Rights advocates, the Resource Centre runs several focused programme areas and regularly releases briefings and reports on areas of particular interest. Prosecutors investigated whether Abe, his aide and two executives from his political support group had subsidized the party fees in violation of campaign and election funds laws. In January 2018, the autonomous Bougainville government introduced a moratorium on mining at the Panguna mine, which had been at the heart of the secessionist … By Dansi Oerupeu Contrary to authority’s claim of common support, the opposition against the Panguna Mine reopening is more apparent then ever. A court case against Rio Tinto failed. The autonomous Papua New Guinea region is set to hold a referendum on independence by 2020 but it has to have a viable economy before Port Moresby … , fuel and troop barracks. ” mine but distrust remains for foreign mining companies another Mekong project... Hun Sen has built since the prospect of reopening the Panguna gold and copper mine in Bougainville U.S. in... 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