BOUGAINVILLE president John Momis last week thanked PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill for his decision not to approve the renewal of the Special Mining Lease (SML) held by Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) in Panguna for the last 42 years. He said that through the Peace Agreement and through the Constitutional arrangements and the Strategic Framework on the Drawdown of Mining Powers and Functions, the PNG government would not exercise mining powers and functions on Bougainville. This he said meant that the National Government would not exercise powers in relation to any mining related issues including powers and functions that relate to the BCA and the re-negotiation of this agreement. “While my Government has undertaken considerable work in consultation with landowners and the National Government in preparation of the BCA re-negotiation, I am happy to hear of reports that the Prime Minister has agreed not to renew the Special Mining Lease held by BCL, but to consult with the ABG on issues concerning mining matters on Bougainville,” he said. Mr Momis added that the ABG and the Panguna Management Consultative Committee had agreed to re-negotiate the Bougainville Copper Agreement (BCA) with BCL, the National Government and any other interested developer. “The ABG has established a steering group to undertake preparatory programmes in relation to the re-negotiation of the BCA,” he said.
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