The Panguna mine is a large copper mine located in Bougainville,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. Panguna represents one of the largest copper reserves in

and in the world, having an estimated reserve of one billion tonnes of

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

copper and twelve million ounces of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The mine has been closed since 1989 and has ceased all production.

History

The discovery of vast copper ore deposits in Bougainville's Crown Prince Range led to the establishment of the copper mine in 1969 by Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL), a subsidiary of the Australian company Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia. The mine began production in 1972, with the support of the Papua New Guinea National Government as a 20% shareholder. In contrast to this, the Bougainvilleans received 0.5–1.25% share of the total profit. The site was at the time the world's largest open-pit copper/gold mine, generating 12% of PNG's GDP and over 45% of the nation's export revenue. Profits derived from the mine helped fund Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia, in 1975. Mining at Panguna included the direct discharge of

tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...

into tributaries of the Jaba River. The mine caused devastating

environmental issues Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...

on the island, and the company was responsible for poisoning the entire length of the Jaba River, causing birth defects, as well as the extinction of the

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

on the island. Bougainville Copper had set up a system of racial segregation on the island, with one set of facilities for white workers and one set for locals. This prompted an uprising in 1988, led by Francis Ona, a Panguna landowner and commander of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA). The outcome of the uprising was the

Bougainville conflict 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 Bougainvi ...

, between the BRA, who sought secession from PNG, and the

Papua New Guinea Defence Force The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into bei ...

. The ten-year conflict resulted in over 20,000 deaths, the eventual closure of the mine on 15 May 1989, and the complete withdrawal of BCL personnel by 24 March 1990. , it remains closed. In June 2016, Rio Tinto relinquished its role by divesting its interests in the mine to national and local governments. In 2020, the

Human Rights Law Centre The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) is an Australian human rights group, with locations in South Melbourne and Sydney. Activities Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people In April 2019, the HRLC compiled data showing that Indigenous Australi ...

lodged a complaint with the Australian government regarding adverse environmental and human rights impacts of the mine.

Environmental impacts

The environmental impacts of the mine continue to this day. Many people have had to relocate to higher ground to avoid contaminated drinking water. Heavy metals such as copper, zinc, and mercury are found in the surrounding rivers. Rio Tinto has refused to fund remediation works, stating that it fully complied with the relevant laws during mining operations.

Reopening

The autonomous government of Bougainville wants to reopen the mine for the purposes of seeking an independent funding source. Estimates place the cost of reopening the mine at $5 to $6 billion.

Gallery

BCP-millCopper ore concentrator undergoing construction. Mill building. 1 c. 1971.jpg, Ore mill at Panguna, Boungainville mine under construction, c. 1971 Bougainville Panguna mine shovel.jpg,

Shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

at Panguna mine undergoing maintenance, engaged in

overburden In mining, overburden (also called waste or spoil) is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation, such as the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. Overburden is distinct from tai ...

removal, c. 1971.

References

External links