Article layout: raw SYDNEY (AFX) - A number of companies are vying for the right to re-open the Panguna copper mine on Bougainville Island, the president of the island's autonomous government said yesterday, according to a report in The Sydnen Morning Herald.
The report said president Joseph Kabui was not willing to name individual companies, but said Australian, American, Canadian, Chinese and Japanese firms have expressed interest.
But any decision will have to wait until the people of Bougainville approve the mine's redevelopment in an island-wide vote in line with its constitution.
"The timing is something that I cannot put my finger on right now," Kabui told the Herald.
The Panguna mine was operated by Rio Tinto until attacks by secessionist rebels forced its closure in 1989.
Rio Tinto still owns 54 pct of the mine through its listed subsidiary, Bougainville Copper Ltd but has long insisted it wants to divest the asset.
Analysts estimate it will cost 1.5 bln usd to re-open the project.
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