Bougainville Copper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bougainville Copper Ltd is an Australian copper, gold, and silver mining company that operates the Panguna open cut mine on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It was one of the world's largest open-pit mines. The Panguna mine dominated the economy of the island during the 1970s and 1980s. It also was highly significant to the overall PNG economy: In the 1970s and the 1980s the company's tax and dividend payments added up to approx. 20% of PNG's national budget.
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Major shareholders are Rio Tinto (53.6%), Papua New Guinea (19.1%) and the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) with approx. 4%. The remaining freefloat of 23% is held by private investors, many of which live on Bougainville Island.
[edit] History
The mine closed in 1989 as a result of sabotage by the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and associated forces, which sought Bougainville's secession from PNG and an end to the mining on environmental grounds.
The company was controlled by CRA Ltd, an Australian company which in turn was dominated by the British mining company Rio Tinto Zinc.
The mine nowadays remains closed but rumors about reopening the mine recently proved to be true with the BCL Managing Director Peter R. Taylor stating to be interested in reopening the Panguna mine. At the beginning of March 2006 first negotiations between Rio Tinto Group and the PNG Mining Minister Sam Akoitai have been confirmed.
Bougainville Copper Ltd. furthermore holds 7 additional mining licenses on Bougainville which currently remain under a mining moratorium.
The mine is a massive surface mine. The destruction of native forest and tailings created by the mine resulted in severe environmental damage in the Panguna area, including damage to rivers and the ocean. During the company's annual meeting in May 2008 and brokered by the President of the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC), Axel G. Sturm, landowners from Panguna expressed their desire for BCL to return to the area. This move can be considered as a key step towards the reopening of the Panguna mine.
Joanne Dateransi has stated publicly that the landowners, of who she is one, do not now or ever want the mine reopened. This interview went out live on blufm.org on the 25th of March, 2009. The reasons given were the irresponsibility of the mining company, the environmental damage they caused, and the attempted genocide of the traditional landowners, which ensued once the mine had been closed. Joanne is in fact the owner of the land which the Panguna site is located on, and any claims that landowners want the mine repoened should be treated with suspicion and caution.
[edit] US lawsuit
Citizens of Bougainville have filed a class action lawsuit in the United States against Rio Tinto arising from the environmental damage caused by the mine and war crimes occurring during the civil war years. In August 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected Rio Tinto's effort to dismiss the claim. See Sarei v Rio Tinto, 456 F.3d 1069 (9th Cir. 2006).
