reopening on the agenda of investors conferenc, page-5

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20101206/tbs-png-copper-7318940.html


World copper demand, especially from China, now represents an unprecedented opportunity for Bougainville, said Greg Anderson, head of Papua New Guinea's Chamber of Mines and Petroleum.

"There is a real appetite to get Bougainville up and running again as soon as possible," he told Reuters.

The mine has potential to annually produce 200,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold, making it larger than BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine in Australia, the world's fourth-largest known copper deposit.

Sources familiar with the project said Rio Tinto had applied to the Papua New Guinea government for a fresh 21-year lease over the mine, known as Panguna.

But a Rio Tinto spokeswoman said Bougainville Copper did not have a timetable for reactivating the mine.

"There is a formal peace process underway and we are participating in that," she said.

Under the peace treaty, with granted autonomy to Bougainville island, the local government was expected to hold an independence referendum within 15 years, but there have been no more moves towards such a vote in recent years.