"On Wednesday, five customary landowner groups – the Kurabang, Barapang, Bakoringu, Basikang and Mantaa clans – signed a joint resolution on the mine reopening at a summit in Tunuru, central Bougainville, local media reported.
At the gathering,
Bougainville president Ishmael Toroama had asked the groups to find an outcome that would support the region’s aspirations for independence.“If we are talking about a new Bougainville, we must reset and refocus our priorities,” he told them.
Wednesday’s resolution signified “the beginning of a new chapter, a chapter to realise Bougainville’s independence”, he said.
Since his election in September 2020, Toroama has maintained that
the reopening of the Panguna mine would be a decision for the land owners but that it is the only option that could provide the economic support for Bougainville’s independence.
Specifics of the reopening are to be discussed in separate, follow-up meetings. The autonomous region’s Department of Mineral and Energy Resources is to liaise with the landowners.
The national government has yet to comment on the decision.
The civil war claimed the lives of about 20,000 people and amplified calls for Bougainvillean independence.
The Bougainville Peace Agreement, signed between Bougainvillean leaders and Papua New Guinea in 2001, marked the end of the war and guaranteed a referendum on independence, to be held in 2019.
The non-binding results of that referendum showed overwhelming support for independence,
with 98% of people voting in favour, but are yet to be ratified in Papua New Guinea’s parliament, which has the final say on the process."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/11/panguna-mine-at-centre-of-bloody-bougainville-conflict-set-to-reopen-after-30-yearsMELBOURNE, 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 and human rights breaches at a copper mine it ran decades ago.
An independent impact report funded largely by the global miner will be overseen by a joint committee of the company and various stakeholders, with the parties discussing recommendations once the assessment is done, Rio said.
"We take this seriously and are committed to identifying and assessing any involvement we may have had in adverse impacts, in line with our external human rights and environmental commitments and internal policies and standards," Chief Executive Officer Jakob Stausholm said.
The miner in 2016 transferred its 53.8% stake in Bougainville Copper Ltd (BOC.AX), the company that ran the mine, to the Autonomous Bougainville government and the Papua New Guinea government for no amount.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/rio-tinto-reaches-deal-with-bougainville-community-assess-copper-mine-impact-2021-07-20/"Following the signing of the joint resolutions,
the ABG through the Department of Mineral and Energy Resources and other relevant departments, will work together with the landowner groups to facilitate the process towards the re-opening of the mine."
https://www.abg.gov.pg/index.php/news/read/panguna-landowners-and-abg-agree-to-reopen-panguna-mine"The Judicial Review of the ABG’s decision not to renew the exploration licence over Panguna
remains in process and we anticipate proceedings to commence in the first quarter of 2022." BOC - asx release 11/2/22.
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