bougainville copper ltd, page-26

Future of Bougainville copper assets uncertain

A COPPER mining operation mothballed for 16 years will look to newly elected leaders in Bougainville to discuss the future of its assets.
But Bougainville Copper has again stated the prospects of reviving the mine — a costly exercise — are still slim. This comes as shares keep rising despite the mine being shut down in 1989 due to militant activity.
Shares worth 25 cents about this time last year closed up 10 cents at 88 cents on Tuesday. Speculators on chat sites claim interest is being driven by trading in Germany, where the stock rose 13 per cent overnight on a Frankfurt exchange.
Others have previously linked rises to coming elections, rumours of a big buyer or general interest in increasing commodity prices worldwide.
Bougainville Copper chairman Peter Taylor, in the annual report out this week, highlighted that the company was the only one with exploration licences for the Papua New Guinea province.
Exploration is currently banned.
“I have spoken to a number of Bougainville landowners who have expressed an interest in allowing exploration on their land,’’ Mr Taylor said.
“Based on exploration that took place prior to the moratorium and an airborne survey, there is good prospectivity in a great number of areas.’’
The company now invests in Australian stocks and recorded a net profit of $A2.9 million for last year, down 51 per cent.

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