If you wish to join the group, please state who you are and what relationship you had with Bougainville. There was no answer from Caballus in response to a series of questions, including regarding its links to Bougainville Advance Mining and how it achieved such a prime position. This public disclosure should document the logistical support BCL supplied to the government's security forces between December 1988 and March 1990. Nevertheless, it is not my intention to vilify BCL. It was a resentment bred of an insensitive approach on the part In fact Mr Lasslett's critique of the company's complicity in human rights abuses, during the first 15 months of the bloody conflict, is quite measured. I have found no evidence to suggest BCL were forced by the PNG government to make this contribution. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. "The company has sufficient funds to cover its recurrent expenditure under the current plan and is debt free.". "Due to the loss recorded and the need to preserve cash for future development the company will not pay a dividend. They would love for Rio Tinto to come back and listen to them face to face about the problems that they have. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. BCL should immediately remove from its Board of Directors, Sir Rabbie Namaliu who was appointed in March 2011. Bougainville has a long human history with the first inhabitants arriving around 29,000 years ago. 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. Landowners are guaranteed rights under the 2015 Mining Act, but in an urgent bid in January 2019 to raise funds for the referendum, the government proposed to abolish those rights, at the same time allocating near monopoly rights to Caballus's Bougainville Advance Mining. 8. 411 University St, Seattle, USA engitech@oceanthemes.net +1 -800-456-478-23 // BCL BCL Today Bougainville Copper's main objective is to work cooperatively towards realising the vision of resuming active exploration and sustainable copper, gold and silver mining at Panguna, in central Bougainville, after mining ceased in 1989. "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. Upla sa complain lo governor blo upla na tok trym putm u kam daun lo level blol grass roots And here em governor blo mipla WNB (Kimbe) Action im | 23 comments on LinkedIn I'm a strong believer in continual learning and process improvement to improve team effectiveness and bring efficiency in . 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. Ben Bohane is a Vanuatu-based photojournalist. PeriscopeFilm Bougainville Copper Limited 10:15. As this dearth of inquiry is particularly evident in South Pacific economies, this paper examines the management of Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), an Australian mining company that operated in Papua New Guinea (PNG) until it was violently expelled by local communities in 1990. Photo: Ben Bohane/The Australian 19 July 2011 bottom The two governments signed a peace deal in 2000 under which Bougainville remained part of PNG but was allowed a measure of governing autonomy. 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. Read more: The Autonomous Bougainville Region consists of 168 islands with the most populated being the large island of Bougainville and the smaller island of Buka to its north, separated by the narrow Buka Passage. Rio Tinto, therefore, is of the view that it is for the people of Bougainville to determine their future, including any potential redevelopment of the mine.. Different equipment is displayed in demonstrated 20:30. 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. The Panguna mine was operated by BCL, majority owned by Rio Tinto, for 17 years from 1972 until 1989, when operations were suspended due to an uprising against the mine and subsequent civil war. In 1988, disputes around the notorious Panguna mine sparked a lengthy civil war in Bougainville, leading to the deaths of up to 20,000 people. Landowner concerns with their treatment when the mine was previously operated led to civil unrest and closure of the mine. I remained somewhat aloof during the controversy elicited by an SBS report in June 2011, as I feel my research speaks for itself - on reflection, I perhaps erred in not correcting factual inaccuracies that were subsequently reported in the media (see Callick 2011). Such past shortfalls aside, Adams said that Rio Tinto has since agreed to more stringent environmental requirements for other mines. Picture taken March 29, 2017. I think communities would welcome them doing that, if they were there for that reason.. The Conversation contacted Rio Tinto for comment. But in the wake of that expected vote, there is a real risk of new disputes between landowner groups as miners, many with links to Australia, could reignite the crisis that engulfed the island 30 years ago. Bougainville is home to the Panguna mine - once one of the largest operating copper and gold mines in the world. This afternoon, the Bougainville Copper share price exited a trading halt to hit 99 cents, 147.5% higher than its previous close. 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. Karoona Maket 21:14. 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. It was, at the time, one of the worlds largest copper and gold mines. [4] Papua New Guinea has been an independent country since 16 September 1975. That's how they worked. Battle intensifies over Bougainville copper mine and civil war legacy SBS is an Australian public broadcast service. Adams and her colleagues documented the mines legacy as it continues to disrupt the lives of the 12,000 to 14,000 people who live downstream in a report released April 1. But that ended 18 years before they divested.. 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. Communities around Rio Tinto's (ASX, LON: RIO) shuttered copper mine in Bougainville face a serious threat of flooding due to. Heavy rains flood the site 16:40. For example, BCL was informed by the Minister of State that the security forces were planning to use "brutal firepower" to resolve the situation on Bougainville. In its heyday, the mine, which would take an estimated $US5 billion in infrastructure spending to restart, was a productive asset for Rio Tinto, then known as Conzinc Rio Tinto. That legislation was later rejected by the government's legislative committee, illustrating how politically contentious this issue will be in an independent Bougainville. And it's based on compelling evidence which BCL shareholders - not to mention Rio Tinto itself - would do well to urgently address. MELBOURNE, July 21 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) said on Wednesday it has reached an agreement with stakeholders of the Bougainville community to look into potential environmental damage. Adams said she doesnt agree with that reasoning, which she said has become something of a mantra for the company since its divestment in 2016. Were working to restore it. 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. [7], A referendum on Bougainville's independence must be held no later than June 2020 under the Bougainville Peace Agreement. Rivers and streams became filled with silt and significantly widened. The Panguna mine was developed in the 1960s, when PNG was still an Australian colony, and operated between 1972 and 1989. Women in a market at Bougainville earlier this year. Produced by Bougainville copper proprietary Limited and Bechtel WKE. That move left Bougainville Copper as little more than a shell company, Adams said, without the resources to mount such a formidable cleanup effort. 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. BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island in PNG from 1971 to 1989. This letter included comments that bordered on the slanderous. The Bougainville Copper Project. catshez@gmail.com. [9], In January 2018, the Bougainville government enacted an indefinite moratorium on renewing the licence of BCL over fears it could reignite violent civil conflict. It was operated by Bougainville Copper Limited, a subsidiary of what is now Rio Tinto, until 2016 when Rio handed its shares to the governments of Bougainville and PNG. Now Aussie companies are fighting over it again. THE BOUGAINVILLE COPPER PROJECT 1970s PANGUNA NEW GUINEA COPPER MINE PROMO FILM 69684 by PeriscopeFilm Topics 1970, Panguna, New Guinea, Copper Mine, Promo Film, Stock Footage This is a 1960's era, color movie about the Bougainville Copper Project in Papua, New Guinea. 4. The mine produced copper concentrate that also contained significant quantities of gold and silver. And the team learned of the perils of fording rivers subject to sudden floods as aging tailings dams from the 80s begin to fail. It is one of the largest known copper reserves in PNG and in the world having estimated reserves of 1,000 Mt of ore grading 0.34% Cu and containing perhaps as much as 12 Moz of gold. BCL regularly met with military commanders from the PNGDF and senior Cabinet figures. The entry of Caballus sparked fears among Bougainville locals specifically those linked to rival miners that a three-way fight for Panguna would erupt. Economic structure and growth 1. PNG marks 40 years of independence, still feeling the effects of Australian colonialism. President Momis asserted that progressing with BCL could "cause a total explosion of the situation again". Over 10 years we help companies reach their financial and branding goals. I also interviewed senior state officials in Papua New Guinea, including the former Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu (1988-1992), and senior military officers involved in the operations on Bougainville. 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. 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