If you wish to join the group, please state who you are and what relationship you had with Bougainville. In a paper out on Wednesday The Scramble for Resources - The International Race for Bougainville's Mineral Wealth, Jubilee Australia has laid out the steps . And the second was that there was always these threats that they were going to sell off the mine equipment" (Personal Communication, 2006). And in an unsuccessful class action, launched by Bougainvilleans in the United States in 2000, Rio was accused of collaborating with the PNG state to commit human rights abuses during the conflict and was also sued for environmental damages. Land clearing begins 15:40. A new port was also reportedly proposed. Mongabay is a U.S.-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform. This public disclosure should document the logistical support BCL supplied to the government's security forces between December 1988 and March 1990. web pages 1989: World's Largest Gold/Copper Mine Bougainville was home to the largest copper/gold mine in the world, the Panguna Mine which operated until 1989. Are they fking mad? asks one former Rio Tinto executive who worked at the company when it was the majority owner of Bougainville. They, and others, sent the complaint to the Australian OECD National Contact Point after lodging it with Melbournes Human Rights Law Centre. Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Hansard editors report what politicians say in the House of Representatives. The company purportedly aided the security forces by providing them with trucks, fuel, accommodation, communications equipment, storage space, messing facilities and office resources after concerns about human rights abuses became apparent. By the time the hostilities ended in 1997, thousands of Bougainvilleans had lost their lives, including from an air and sea blockade the PNG military had imposed, which prevented essential medical supplies reaching the island. When Prime Minister Namaliu opted to send a peace delegation to Bougainville to resolve the impasse with landowners in December 1988, BCL's Chairman - who was also an executive at Conzinc Rio Tinto Australia (CRA) - threatened to withdraw all CRA investments from Papua New Guinea. Bougainville Copper's bloody "hidden past" exposed Published by MAC on 2012-05-01 Source: ACT NOW!, Papua New Guinea Mine Watch . No environmental impact study was carried out. But that ended 18 years before they divested.. 2 May 2012. They would love for Rio Tinto to come back and listen to them face to face about the problems that they have. Its a curse that many think is worth risking. Last week the Bougainville Government announced an agreement had been reach with Panguna landowners to re-open the island's controversial Gold and Copper mine. It cannot be the case that a company can be seen to improve its environmental social governance standards, simply by cutting and running from any projects that pose a high risk and high liability to them, Adams said. Johnstons biggest claims to fame at home are a controversy over his lavish spending on entertainment as minister and comments that South Australians couldnt build a canoe, much less a submarine. 6 inches of rain per hour. Already the tussle for Panguna has sparked a race to promise the best deal and the highest royalties to landowners while stemming the environmental degradation that has ravaged Bougainville. BCL meeting minutes evidence the fact that during 1989 the company's Managing Director provided strategic input to PNGDF commanders and government officials on security force offensive operations. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com, There are no reviews yet. Country Partnership Strategy: Papua New Guinea, 2021-2025 INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ASSESSMENT A. And the team learned of the perils of fording rivers subject to sudden floods as aging tailings dams from the 80s begin to fail. Nevertheless, it is not my intention to vilify BCL. Bougainville Copper, a company in which the local government (known as the Autonomous Bougainville Government) has a 36.4% stake is up 200% over the past three weeks with a rise from 6.5. "Overall, income and costs were generally within budget, administration and exchange losses being over, offset by a similar amount under budget for BCA renegotiation," he said. During its operation from 1972-1989, the mine operator, then a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, dumped one billion tonnes of mining waste into Bougainville's rivers with devastating environmental consequences. Rios former subsidiary BCL is still in the race for a mining licence, though Rio divested its shares and walked away in 2016. Opened in the late 1960s and early 1970s, The mine at Panguna was officially opened in 1972 and was majority-owned by Rio Tinto. In his latest broadside, Sturm accuses Ulster University criminologist, Kristian Lasslett, of using his "academic position as a platform for indoctrination and agitation.". In an interview with PNG Industry News, he blamed political uncertainty in Papua New Guinea for BCL's current woes. Mining operations were officially halted on 15 May 1989, due to militant activity and the mine has remained closed since. Bougainville Copper trained some 12,000 employees, including approximately 1,000 completing full trade apprenticeships and some 400 completing graduate and post-graduate studies that resulted in considerable progress in the localisation of the companys employees and significantly added to the number of skilled workers elsewhere in the countrys workforce. See: London Calling asks: did Rio Tinto fund war on Bougainville? The Panguna mine was developed in the 1960s, when PNG was still an Australian colony, and operated between 1972 and 1989. Sale ends. But that same year, the company abruptly said it needed to do its own internal review, Adams said. Paul Toohey 7 min read June 4, 2013 - 5:36PM News Corp Australia Network mining [11], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}61855S 1552947E / 6.31528S 155.49639E / -6.31528; 155.49639. One of the key proponents of the company's innocence is major BCL stockholder, the highly-irascible Axel Sturm. It was a critical but hopefully constructive piece, on how BCL might mend certain bridges with communities on Bougainville, using fairly orthodox transitional justice techniques. Back then, the company was still majority-owned by Rio Tinto (ISIN GB0007188757), the Australian mining giant that had created Bougainville Copper in the 1960s and controlled it through a 53.8% shareholding. This week, 156 people from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea, petitioned the Australian government to investigate Rio Tinto over a copper mine that devastated their homeland. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. A supplied image shows locals taking shelter from rain under a local administrative building at the former Bougainville Copper Limited's (BCL) Panguna mining operation located on the Pacific Ocean island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, March 29, 2017. New methods of commerce are employed 21:30. Melbourne Australia 10:06. Yet this reconciliation to some extent holds a key to international reconciliation among Bougainville, Australia and Papua New Guinea". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. International Organization Foundation How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Several sources linked to the company and NGOs operating on the island said this was due to the request by the government that the miners are not seen to be influencing the independence vote. Dec. 5, 2022. In turn, the landowner groups supporting BCLs plans to reopen Panguna have also come under fire. (AAP Image: Ilya Gridneff) The Bougainville Government has also criticised the consortium for paying landowners who support them and implied it is not respecting the approval process. Australian External Territories Minister Charles Barnes was accused of telling the Bougainvillean people they would "get nothing". Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) yesterday announced a loss of K3.7 million in 2011, compared to an anticipated loss of K7.3 million, reports The National. BCL regularly met with military commanders from the PNGDF and senior Cabinet figures. I spent several nights in a large two-story house built entirely from a single tree dragged out of the tailings dragged upright, with a tractor. Over 10 years we help companies reach their financial and branding goals. "Interest of K2.2 million earned on court-held IBDs has been brought into account this year. If BCL comes to the table and publicly acknowledges its role on the Bougainville war, perhaps the healing process can begin. Lets examine what led to the ongoing crisis. Joe Stevens emailed from Western Australia: My name is Joe Stevens, I first went to Bougainville in 1969 and remained until Feb 1990 I worked for Pioneer Concrete for two years, then BCL Civil Works, Laurie Mentze, Ross Wilson, Ian Garside and Win Spurr. But that race has also already sparked intense political disagreement between rival groups on the island. Last month the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) Axel Sturm publicly raised concerns over the volatility of BCL's share prices. Its clear the time has come for Rio to finally take responsibility for cleaning up the mess on Bougainville. An obstacle here is that the company fears ritual apology would expose it to liability in the courts. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of tailings were deposited in the rivers. If you threw a rock at them you would get ten rocks thrown back. Computers anticipate marketing and management challenges for the exploration 12:05. I expressed the view that CRA would want to review its assessment of PNG as a place to invest. Iron ore magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has joined the race with an unruly bunch of small, struggling mining companies, all with links to Australia and share prices of 10c or less, for access to some of the worlds biggest copper and gold deposits on the Pacific island of Bougainville. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. This claim was confirmed by a senior civil servant who was working in Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister's department: "We relied heavily on some of the civilian facilities provided by the company. But Bougainville Copper simply abandoned the site in the face of a landowner rebellion. My specific claims relate to a small window in the company's life, 1988-1990, where decisions were taken that implicated BCL in the hostilities, and the human rights abuses they generated. Following the discovery of vast copper ore deposits in Crown Prince Range, Bougainville Copper Limited (Bougainville Copper or the company) operated a large open pit mine and processing facility at Panguna in central Bougainville in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between 1972 and 1989. Regardless, all views are to be respected." The war is long over and the mine has been closed for 30 years, but its brutal legacy continues. I am more than happy to engage in further probing dialogue with anyone who cares to comment; but I will not react to any further personal attacks, or ill informed judgements on the rigour of my research. Bougainville. Update on the Panguna Mine Rio Tinto and Bougainville community residents reach agreement to assess legacy impacts of Panguna mine Complaint made by the Human Rights Law Centre to the Australian National Contact Point (AusNCP) Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment Committee releases Preparatory Phase Report Confirm Manage Cookie Preferences Battle intensifies over Bougainville copper mine and civil war legacy SBS is an Australian public broadcast service. Search the history of over 797 billion Here you can read our near-verbatim reports on all debates, including oral questions and proposed laws (bills). The movie opens on a beach with palm trees. Please try again later. BCL did not alert the domestic or international community of the impeding humanitarian crisis. The production had a value of 5.2 billion Kina (K) which represented approximately 44 per cent of Papua New Guineas exports over that period. She and her colleagues contend that shedding its shares in Bougainville Copper, which controls the still-abandoned mine, does nothing to absolve Rio Tinto from its responsibility to improve the lives of the people who are still affected by the mining operations to this day. Construction continues at a rapid pace 25:27. Read more: They also used information from stories compiled by the Catholic Diocese of Bougainville from affected communities between 2017 and 2019. The Sherratt Family, UK. The copper slurry is then pumped to the seacoast 4:38. The petition has brought the plight of these communities back into the media, but calls for Rio Tinto to clean up its mess have been made for decades. That move left Bougainville Copper as little more than a shell company, Adams said, without the resources to mount such a formidable cleanup effort. Thats what communities want, Adams said. catshez@gmail.com. Over 10 years we help companies reach their financial and branding goals. Nevertheless, the company continued to provide material assistance to the security forces. Bougainville Copper Project 1969/1970 Photos Heavy fuel storage tanks 11:30. Eighteen months later, Rio Tinto decided to divest from its local subsidiary in control of the Panguna mine, Bougainville Copper Limited, handing over its majority stake to the governments of PNG and Bougainville. The researchers tracked the fallout from the mines operations through interviews in 38 villages along the Jaba and Kawerong rivers that flow downstream from the Panguna mine. She added the companys representatives wouldnt have to visit the mine site to find ways to improve access to water and health care and to orchestrate an assessment so that communities understand the risks they face and how to deal with them. In particular Axel G Sturm argued: "Your disgraceful lampoon is remarkable. But a number of new entrants are also in the game. A peace agreement was signed in 2001 and Bougainville was given greater autonomy within PNG, with a non-binding referendum in favour of independence . The Panguna copper mine in Bougainville was closed in 1989.Credit:Alamy, There is at times frustration when some purporting to speak on behalf of all landowners are in fact representing a narrower interest. Power station generators are built as lead line items in other countries 12:50. The Panguna mine is set to reopen after landowners in Bougainville agreed to the decision, 30 years after it was forced to shut amid a civil war between local rebels and the government of Papua. 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. The colonial-era approach to mining when Panguna was developed in the 1960s stands in stark contrast to the corporate social responsibility paradigm supposedly governing the global mining industry today. Regardless, all views are to be respected.. There is evidence to suggest BCL's Managing Director did raise concerns with PNGDF officers over the loss of civilian life. BCL must publicly apologise for its evidenced role in the Bougainville conflict. They were very heavy handed in the way they handled disputes in the HighlandsIt was a case, somebody has to come. Recent Growth, Poverty, Inequality, and Environmental Dynamics 1. It sparked fears, rumours and intrigue when it emerged the Autonomous Government of Bougainville had drafted new laws that would assign the responsibility for issuing mining licences to a new entity Bougainville Advance Mining and a foreign partner. Its sole director is Arabian horse breeder and luxury goods dealer Jeff McGlinn a man who posted a flashy social media video of Saudi royalty at a luxury event, and another of him giving one of his fine equines to classical crossover singer Andrea Bocelli. Heavy rains flood the site 16:40. Several villages had to be relocated to make way for the mining operations, with around 200 households resettled between 1969 and 1989. Landowner concerns with their treatment when the mine was previously operated led to civil unrest and closure of the mine. Bougainville Copper trained some 12,000 employees, including approximately 1,000 completing full trade apprenticeships and some 400 completing graduate and post-graduate studies that resulted in considerable progress in the localisation of the company's employees and significantly added to the number of skilled workers elsewhere in the country's The company is blamed by many locals for contamination attributed to the mine. David Johnston (no relation to Michael) and Kalia shareholder Nick Zuks also did not return calls. The Evidence of BCL's role in the Bougainville Conflict: A Reluctant Response to Axel G. Sturm's Open Letter. Mongabay Series: Land rights and extractives. More than 30 years later, The situation is worsening, as waste continues to seep into the regions rivers, said Keren Adams, legal director at the nonprofit Human Rights Law Centre in Australia. The Conversation contacted Rio Tinto for comment. Of course, I can only hint here at the evidence collected over several years of doctoral research. Website http://www.bcl.com.pg/ Industries Mining Company size 11-50 employees Headquarters Port Moresby,. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The entry of Caballus sparked fears among Bougainville locals specifically those linked to rival miners that a three-way fight for Panguna would erupt. Liked by Angus Seka. However, I was told by a senior BCL executive that the company was supportive of the blockade for two reasons: "One was the ability of the militants to get more weapons to increase the level of their militancy. Were working to restore it. However, democratic decision making about the future depends upon accurate knowledge of the past. Sir Rabbie Namaliu was the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea during 1988-1992. Our EIN or tax ID is 45-3714703. stories compiled by the Catholic Diocese of Bougainville, decided to divest from its local subsidiary in control of the Panguna mine, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Bolivian national park hit hard by forest fires in 2022, satellite data show, Deforestation out of control in reserve in Brazils cattle capital, In Brazils Amazon, land grabbers scramble to claim disputed Indigenous reserve, Gold mining invades remote protected area in Ecuador, Machine learning makes long-term, expansive reef monitoring possible, Experts pushing for high-seas fishing ban win Nobel Prize for environment, Theyre everywhere out there: Three new nautilus species described, End of the tuna FAD? Unit 3: Transition and Change - Bougainville Case Study 1 Additional Support Material Bougainville - Background Notes From 1987 to December 1997 Bougainville Copper The Bougainville Copper Agreement of 1974 was signed with some resentment on the part of the Bougainvillean landowners. The Panguna mine is a large copper resource in the east of Papua New Guinea in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Optimizing productivity and improving safety. Computers tabulate the needs for materials and labor 11:52. Other companies - including one chaired by a former Liberal defence minister David Johnston and another by Arabian horse breeder and luxury goods dealer Jeff McGlinn - have also been striving to gain local support on the island to reopen the mine, which was shuttered in 1989. The mine produced copper concentrate that also contained significant quantities of gold and silver. Bougainville Copper Limited is now an independently managed company. Matthew G. Allen has received funding from an Australian Research Council fellowship DE140101206. This story was produced with the assistance of the inaugural Walkley/Sean Dorney grant for Pacific Journalism. A family carries large, tropical leaves up a hill. . 4. "The vision to return to active exploration and profitable mining remains and, I am pleased to say, with the active support from local stakeholders to which I have earlier referred.".
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