Category Bougainville Copper

Sep 12 2018

Bougainville News : Download report and watch video @Jubilee_AU Long Han Blong Yumi (It’s in our hands) and report, Growing #Bougainville’s Future.

Jubilee Australia has just launched a major report, Growing Bougainville’s Future, which examines the economic development paths for Bougainville.

Download the report

 GrowingBougainvillesFuture_120918

Bougainville fought a brutal Civil War from 1989-1997 which claimed the lives of up to 20 000 people, and tens of thousands more were displaced. At the core of the conflict was the Panguna mine, a massive copper and gold mine that had serious socio-economic, environmental and cultural impacts.

20 years later, Bougainville is planning for a referendum for independence from Papua New Guinea. Simultaneously, there is a heated debate about re-opening the Panguna mine, based on the argument that independence requires economic self-sufficiency, and mining is the only way to achieve that.

As shown by our report Voices of Bougainville, many local communities do not want to re-open the Panguna mine, and our research shows that this is not the only development option for Bougainville. Bougainville can pursue a development path that is more sustainable and broad-based, and this film explores that option.

Bougainville: Long Han Blong Yumi (It’s in our hands) is being published along with a report, Growing Bougainville’s Future.

The report explores many of the same issues as the movie, and together we hope they contribute to facilitating an informed debate on Bougainville’s development options.

The report challenges the argument that Bougainville needs other large-scale mining for the sake of development, and explores alternative and sustainable development options.🌍

This report is being published along with a short film, Bougainville: Long Han Blong Yumi (Bougainville: It’s In Our Hands), which covers many of the same topics as the report.

Watch it below👇🎥

#GrowingBougainvillesFuture

Jun 20 2018

Bougainville News ALERT : 39 recommendations for the leaders consideration at the Joint Supervisory Body, Arawa, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, June 28- 29 meeting

National Government and Bougainville Chief Secretaries, Isaac Lupari and Joseph Nobetau have agree on 39 recommendations to be put to the Prime Minister and President at the next Joint Supervisory Body (JSB) meeting – confirmed for 28 – 29 June in Arawa.

The recommendations cover a wide range of issues under the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) including referendum and post-referendum issues, fisheries, outstanding grants owed to Bougainville, weapons disposal and border control.

Chief Secretary to the National Government Isaac Lupari said the meeting of the Joint Technical Team in preparation for the JSB was highly productive, and illustrated the current spirit of partnership, cooperation and preparedness between the two governments.

“These 39 recommendations will support the upcoming JSB to be a more effective forum for progressing referendum preparations and resolution of issues between the two governments under the Bougainville Peace Agreement.”

“It is a time for action and we are working hard,” Mr Lupari said.

“The National Government is fully committed to implementing the Bougainville Referendum in accordance with the Peace Agreement – and this includes a commitment to implementing the referendum on Bougainville’s future political status.”

Bougainville Chief Secretary Joseph Nobetau said the two chief secretaries had undertaken multiple discussions since the last JSB to progress resolutions.

“There has been good work since the last JSB and I wish to acknowledge these fruitful discussions with the Chief Secretary that pave the way for preparing our leaders and supporting Bougainville implement all three pillars of the Peace Agreement,” Mr Nobetau said.

“Bougainvilleans are keen to see leadership resolve issues such as operationalizing the Bougainville Referendum Commission, the referendum question to be put to people and what will happen after the referendum.

“We hope that our recommendations will see resolution or progress on all these issues,” Mr Nobetau said.

“We must continue to work together to support the establishment of a fully operational Bougainville Referendum Commission, one that can conduct an independent, credible and successful referendum.”

Included in the 39 recommendations for the leaders consideration at the Joint Supervisory Body, Arawa, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, meeting are:

• Formally endorse Mr Bertie Ahern, international peace-builder and former President of Ireland, as Chair of the Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) and invite him to attend the meeting of the JSB in Arawa from 28 to 29 June 2018.
• That ABG Members of the BRC, Mr Patrick Nisira and Ms Ruby Mirinka be noted and the National Government Members of the BRC be finalised before the meeting of the JSB.
• Establishment of funding of K20 million be transferred to a formally endorsed BRC trust account.
• The full Commission meet no later than 14 days after the JSB
• Officials meet to review legal arrangements related to the Organic Law and the need for possible amendments, including constitutional regulations and associated legal matters to give effect to the operational conduct of the referendum.
• Leaders formally consider questions to be put at the referendum, including the use of symbols and direct BRC to test the questions and ballot paper to ensure it is understood by the people
• Develop agreed process for post-referendum transition
• the two Chief Secretaries meet to examine means through which disbursement of outstanding K437 million can be made
• That the ABG will prepare an expenditure plan for the K135 million to be financed by the National Government in 2018.
• Endorse arrangement for the Second Autonomy review, which is expected to be finalised by the end of October 2018.
• Endorsement of the progress of the Four Phase Weapons Disposal Plan and funding support of K12 million over three years be affirmed, with a commitment that K7million in funds be provided in the 2018 financial year.

Ambassador Isaac Lupari, CBE
Chief Secretary Government of Papua New Guinea

Joseph Nobetau, Chief Secretary
Autonomous Bougainville Government

Jun 2 2018

Bougainville News and the 2019 Referendum : Top 5 News Stories this week as Bougainville has a date with destiny : Download the Bougainville Strategic Plan 2018-2022

Top 5 Bougainville News articles this week

1.The Papua New Guinea government is not doing enough to support Bougainville as it prepares for a referendum on possible independence

2. Issues with the shareholding in Bougainville Copper Ltd are still causing frustrations for the Bougainville Government.

3.Meeting with PNG Prime Minister in Arawa on June 14 is expected to also consider the PNG government’s failure to meet its earlier commitment to pay 20 million kina to Bougainville to help the Referendum Commission prepare for the vote on possible independence

4.The PNG National Research Institute (PNG NRI) will be hosting a National Conference from the 5th to the 7th of June 2018 at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby on the Bougainville Referendum.

The Conference theme is: “IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REFERENDUM”.

5.Bougainville Strategic Pan 2018-2022

Bougainville Strategic Plan 2018 2022

The Vision reflects the aspirations of the Bougainville
people to create a prosperous and strong region. It has
been developed from community consultation, and
captures the aspirations of people to drive change, to
improve prosperity, to support peace and stability and to
plan for a better future.
A united, safe, peaceful, healthy, educated,
prosperous and resilient Bougainville, that
promotes respect, trust, our Christian and
cultural values, and recognises the identity and
rights of our people.

Part 1 : The Papua New Guinea government is not doing enough to support Bougainville as it prepares for a referendum on possible independence, a PNG MP says.

Last week, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told parliament the vote was not simply about independence but embraced a number of factors.

He also said maintaining the country’s unity was all important.

But the regional MP for Bougainville, Joe Lera, said as the province prepared for the vote in June next year, the PNG government had not been honouring its commitments under the Peace Agreement.

“They have done a lot on the development side of things, like restored some big infrastructure, like airports, power and all these things, roads, but on the political side the province has not been getting the level of support that they should be giving according to the Peace Agreement.”

The autonomous region of Bougainville is to hold a vote on possible independence from PNG next year – a step that marks the culmination of a 20 year peace process.

Mr O’Neill told parliament former leaders would not want the country divided up, saying he would not want to let Bougainville go.

He spoke of the need for unity and stability but Mr Lera, said the Peace Agreement was about enhancing peace and did not talk about unity.

“The bottom line is the issue of independence is part of the Peace Agreement. So, for the prime minister to base his comments on unity, the unity is not in the Peace Agreement. But I understand where he is coming from because he doesn’t want the country to break up,” he said.

Part 2 : Two years ago multinational Rio Tinto, which was the majority owner of BCL, ditched its commitments and gave its shares to the Papua New Government and the landowners of Bougainville.

The autonomous Bougainville Government deemed the landowners shares go to it, giving it 36.4 percent of the company, according to the BCL website.

But at a BCL board meeting last month the ABG was not permitted to vote in accordance with its shareholding.

An ABG cabinet minister, Albert Punghau, says the share transfer from the PNG government has apparently not been completed.

“The Prime Minister he said he would be giving it back to the Panguna landowners, through the ABG,” said Mr Panghau.

“That has not been done as yet so that issues needs to be rectified and at the JSB [meeting later this month between both governments] so that we can finally put the matter to rest.”

The meeting in Arawa on June 14 is expected to also consider the PNG government’s failure to meet its earlier commitment to pay 20 million kina to Bougainville to help the Referendum Commission prepare for the vote on possible independence.

The vote is scheduled for June 15, 2019.

PNG is also yet to appoint two officials to join two Bougainville officials and former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, who is to head the body.

Part 3 : Prime Minister Hon Peter O’Neill in responding to South Bougainville MP Timothy Masiu, regarding the issue that government officials should regularly visit the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. O’Neill says that he will go to Bougainville.

PM O’Neill stressed that he will be in Arawa come June 14, that the government is committed to Bougainville and would honour every word in the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

O’Neill said that the peace agreement will go according to the Papua New Guinea Constitution, we will not detour, O’Neill also said that he is not afraid to visit Bougainville and welcomes views and is ready to listen.

We should not divide our country but stand as one, founders like, President John Momis, Sir Michael Somare, Sir Julius Chan did not want a division but to be united as one, other issues should not be an obstacle to the peace agreements.

Part 4 : The PNG National Research Institute (PNG NRI) will be hosting a National Conference from the 5th to the 7th of June 2018 at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby on the Bougainville Referendum.

The Conference theme is: “IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PEACE AGREEMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE REFERENDUM”.

The three days conference will focus on key issues relating to the implications for the Referendum. The conference will feature participants from the Government of Papua New Guinea, Autonomous Bougainville Government, Development Partners, Heads of Missions in PNG, Churches, Private Entities, interested individuals and the Independent Research Experts.

Download here

Opportunities will be provided for researchers, officials, and participants to share their views, respond to questions, and explore additional issues that may deserve detailed consideration in the preparation for the referendum.

Attendance by registration only: referendum.research@pngnri.org or call mobile number 72198306.

The proceedings of this conference will be broadcast by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). Some of the sessions will be live and other sessions recorded and played through NBC Bougainville and all provincial stations.

5.Bougainville Strategic Pan 2018-2022

 

Download here Bougainville Strategic Plan 2018 2022

An awareness of the Bougainville Strategic Development 2018- 2022

THE VISION

The Vision reflects the aspirations of the Bougainville
people to create a prosperous and strong region. It has
been developed from community consultation, and
captures the aspirations of people to drive change, to
improve prosperity, to support peace and stability and to
plan for a better future.
A united, safe, peaceful, healthy, educated,
prosperous and resilient Bougainville, that
promotes respect, trust, our Christian and
cultural values, and recognises the identity and
rights of our people.

United
While the ABG will always have diversity and
differences among ourselves as individuals, families and
communities we are united in our desire for a strong
Bougainville. Bougainvilleans must unite to implement
the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the Referendum
peacefully and let it be a process of integrity.
Safe and peaceful
We want Bougainville to be free of weapons and
lawlessness. Women, children and men must be able to
move around Bougainville without the fear of violence.

Healthy
Good health is essential for a good quality of life. The
people of Bougainville deserve access to quality health
care, nutritious food, clean drinking water and good
sanitation.

Educated
Education and training are the keys to improving the life
opportunities of our people and enabling them to reach
their full potential. They are also vital to Bougainville’s
economic development and growth. Our vision is that all
Bougainville children should attend school. Every adult
has the right to be given the opportunity to read, write
and learn a trade.

Resilient
We want to be self-reliant as families, communities and
as a government. We want to be able to use what we
have to meet our needs.

Prosperous
We want to see our people advance in all aspects of
life through having enough income to participate in our
society with dignity. It is our way for privileged persons
to voluntarily forego benefits to enable those who are
less privileged to have a little more.
Christian and cultural values
We are a Christian people and live by the values of
Christianity and our traditional culture which was
developed over thousands of years. We will respect and
preserve our culture.

Identity
We are Bougainvilleans. Our identity must be
incorporated into every aspect of the political, economic
and religious institutions and how they interact with
each other as individuals and communities. Development
must take place through Bougainvillean Ways. We
will seek to promote our traditional ways such as
participation, consultation and seeking consensus in how
we go about the business of government.

Rights
Respecting human dignity and life, and living according
to our moral, spiritual and cultural values will enable us
to be a free people who respect each others right to live
peacefully in Bougainville.

Apr 25 2018

Bougainville #PeaceAgreement #Referendum and #Mining News Updates : @pngnri to host a National Conference on the Bougainville Referendum ” “Implementation of the Bougainville Peace Agreement and the implications for the referendum

“ The Autonomous Bougainville Government wants to ensure nothing undermines the region’s unity ahead of the referendum on independence.

In June next year Bougainvilleans will be asked to vote on whether they want independence from Papua New Guinea in what will be the final chapter of the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

Efforts had been underway to re-open the Panguna mine which was closed by the region’s civil war, but disputes within local communities caused the Bougainville parliament to place an indefinite moratorium on any mining there.

President John Momis said landowners are split with factions supporting different mining companies.

“For us you know determining Bougainville’s future is more paramount right now. It is the priority we are focussing our attention to, to make sure that the people of Bougainville are united, so we don’t want any other issues to undermine this unity.”

News Part 2 Mining

The Autonomous Bougainville Government has reinforced its decision to continue with the moratorium over Panguna Mine after seeking advice from the Bougainville Mining Advisory Council.

ABG Vice President and Minister for Mineral and Energy Resources Raymond Masono said the decision stems from the advice of the BMAC and recent deliberation by Bougainville House of Representatives.

Upon these advices the Bougainville Executive Council under the Bougainville Mining Act 2015 Section 66(subsection 1) has designated the area, approximately 37.8 square kilometres to be reserved from any mining activity.

The area covers the Mine Pit, Dapera, Moroni, Pirurari and borders Guava Village which literally means the areas where the Panguna Mine operations were once situated.

As the ABG tightens its reins over Panguna the continued squabbling between BCL and RTG has intensified as the two companies try to entice the ABG and landowner groups to supporting their right to mine Panguna.

Under the ABG’s Mining Act the landowners have the final say as to who will be allowed back to Panguna but the division them amongst has irked the ABG.

Sources close to the ABG have disclosed that the moratorium will remain in place until the landowners can unite and agree on the developer they prefer back in Panguna.

The first declaration of the moratorium was initiative by the BMAC late last year after negotiations with both companies broke down.

News Part 2.2

Mining company Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) has advised the Australian sharemarket the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) decision not to renew its exploration licence at Panguna has been stayed in the National Court of Papua New Guinea.

Bougainville's Panguna Copper mine

Bougainville’s Panguna Copper mine Photo: Supplied

The vast Panguna copper and gold mine once generated nearly half of PNG’s annual export revenue.

BCL ran Panguna until the outbreak of civil war in 1989 in which grievances caused by the mine were central to the 10 year conflict that cost over 20,000 lives.

It is one of two companies that have been vying to re-open Panguna and has told the market it will continue to pursue the rights of its shareholders.

BCL company secretary Mark Hitchcock said the company was due back in court next month as it was seeking a judicial review over the non-renewal of the licence.

The ABG placed an indefinite moratorium on mining at Panguna which Mr Hitchcock said BCL would respect.

“We just need to protect the rights of everybody. That includes our shareholders and the majority of the landowners that we see as supporting us. And we are just trying to maintain the status quo at the moment,” he said.

“We have always politely gone about our work, and respectfully gone about our work in relation to EL1 (exploration licence) and we will continue to do that.”

News Part 3 Papua New Guinea Parliamentary Bipartisan Committee on Bougainville Affairs 

The Papua New Guinea Parliamentary Bipartisan Committee on Bougainville Affairs says vital issues pertaining to next year’s referendum need to addressed before the end of this year.

A tentative date of June 15th 2019 has been set for a referendum on possible independence in the Autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville. Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades

Its report, which had been tabled in Parliament, included calls for additional funds to be provided, over and above the grants to which Bougainville is already entitled.

It said the National Co-ordination Office for Bougainville Affairs should become a stand-alone entity, rather than being part of the Prime Minister’s Department.

The report said this agency should have offices in both Port Moresby and Buka so it could become the focal point for development co-operation partners, NGOs and businesses interested in engaging in Bougainville.

It said the National Executive Council should also consider extending the Special Intervention Fund beyond the referendum, when Bougainville would still require support for governance and development, whatever the final outcome.

The Post Courier reported the committee saying it is vital the National Government and the ABG consider and fund economic plans so that the Bougainville economy grows and diversifies.

News Part 4 Bougainville parallel political structures 

There is a need to look at the parallel political structures now in place in Bougainville, the Parliamentary Committee on Bougainville Referendum says.

The report, which was tabled in Parliament by the committee chairman William Powi, found that there were two sets of political structures and two sets of leaders performing almost the same kind of responsibilities.

“These two sets of leaders are the four national leaders who are members of the National Parliament and the 40 Bougainville House of Representatives members.

Mr Powi said that the establishment of the ABG in 2005 had paved way for the co-existence of the dual parallel political structures.

He said that these structures are occupied by two sets of leaders who are elected by the same Bougainville voters and serving the very same Bougainville constituencies that had similar development aspiration for the people and share similar views in terms of policy initiatives for development and service delivery.

Mr Powi said that the sources of friction appeared to be threefold, first, there was the case of what could be called “dual legitimacy” where both governments claim that their respective elected leaders were the rightful or mandated representatives of the Bougainville people.

“While this matter can easily be brushed aside as a needless political tussle, the issues at hand really boils down to who really should be playing the leading role in setting the development agenda as well as the pace for Bougainville’s political future. One can see the logic in the two sets of leaders’ cooperating, but apparently they have not been able to do so for a long time. That is why Bougainville’s Speaker, Simon Pentanu, considered it a significant achievement when the four national MPS recently started taking their seats in Bougainville’s House of Representatives,” he said.

He said secondly, there appeared to be disconnected with policies and development initiatives between the National Government and ABG.

“The National Government has major projects funded through sources like special intervention fund while national MPs have the provincial support improvement programs. At the same time, the ABG has its own budget, projects and implementation schedules. However the four national parliamentarians are able to implement their projects without ease compared to the cash-strapped ABG government.

“Just like the parallel political structure, there are parallel development initiatives sprouting throughout the autonomous region without proper linkage to generate maximum impact from allocated resources,” Mr Powi said.

News Part 5 Bougainville Unity must bring peace

The sacrifice made by Bougainvilleans during the Crisis must not be in vain as the region faces off with deciding its ultimate political future.

Chairman of the North Nasioi Community Government Rodney Niangko said that there has to be unity amongst Bougainvilleans and the Autonomous Bougainville Government to making this political dream a reality.

“The unity that brought us together to end the civil war and bring about peace on the island must again be called upon to unite us as we prepare for the referendum,” Mr Niangko said.

Mr Niangko said that Bougainville must rise to the occasion and show the international community that its people are willing and able to be the masters of their own destiny.

Mr Niangko said that reconciliation amongst Bougainvilleans is tantamount to all aspects of the referendum preparations for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

He added that the people must fully understand the concept of self-determination and not to succumb to any negativity that will endanger the process of the referendum.

Mr Niangko then paid tribute to former North Solomons Provincial Government member John Bika who was assassinated during the Crisis.

He said that it was only through the sacrifice of leaders like Mr Bika that Bougainville’s struggle was overcome.

The Minister for Primary Industries and Member for North Nasioi Nicholas Daku also reverberated these sentiments

Dec 11 2017

Bougainville Mining News : Rival companies ramp up battle to reopen controversial #Bougainville mine

 

” The Bougainville Government is holding a crucial mining warden’s hearing at the abandoned copper mine which sparked a decade-long armed insurgency against the Papua New Guinea Government.

Key points:

  • RTG Mining chairman Michael Carrick says a proposal by the Central Me’ekamui Exploration Limited consortium is more realistic and “for the benefit of the people of Bougainville”
  • But BCL company secretary Mark Hitchcock says the consortium’s conduct is “less than honourable”
  • Bougainville’s Mining Secretary Shadrach Himata says all landowners will be asked for their views

Rival companies ramp up battle to reopen controversial Bougainville mine By Papua New Guinea correspondent Eric Tlozek See Part 1 Below

” ABG Vice President and Minister for Mining, RAYMOND MASONO is calling on Panguna leaders, PHILIP MIRIORI and LAWRENCE DAVEONA to know that the Panguna mine is no ordinary mine.

He said that the Panguna mine has a bad history that has crippled the economy of PNG and Bougainville and with many lives lost fighting for it.

The Vice President said that the Panguna mine no longer belongs to the landowners because Bougainvilleans blood were spilt over that particular mine.

DO NOT MEDDLE WITH PANGUNA SAYS MASONO By Aloysius Laukai see Report Part 2 Below

Rival companies ramp up battle to reopen controversial Bougainville mine

The Bougainville Government now owns part of Bougainville Copper Limited and wants it to redevelop the mine, but a rival consortium is challenging their bid, and said it has the support of key landowners from Panguna. RTG’s chairman Michael Carrick said the group’s proposal was more realistic and better-supported by the people of Panguna.

RTG Mining has told the Bougainville Government that BCL’s exploration licence for Panguna has expired and legally cannot be renewed.”For the first time in 30 years a mining company has been endorsed and supported by the SMLOLA,” Mr Carrick said.

He said the landowners would present a 2000-signature petition in opposition to BCL.RTG Mining said the dispute had been settled with their preferred candidate, Philip Miriori, in charge; the Bougainville Government said the mediation had failed and that the matter is still before the courts.

The Bougainville Government has also criticised the consortium for paying landowners who support them and implied it is not respecting the approval process.”… The ABG rejects companies that think they can bribe their way into people’s resources by giving certain individuals money to gain landowner consent.”

Michael Carrick from RTG Mining says the consortium has been dealing openly with the Bougainville Government and that landowner payments are wages for its employees.”The joint venture is a commercial operation and landowners, like anyone else, are able to work and to get paid for their services.

Mr Carrick said the intent of the travel ban against Mr Duncan appeared to be to help Bougainville Copper Limited.Bougainville Copper Limited is deeply unhappy with RTG Mining and its partners.

He said BCL’s licence application was legal, and wasn’t processed on time because the Bougainville Government wasn’t ready to implement the processes of its new Mining Act.”It now has all those facilities in place.”

Mr Hitchcock said many landowners do support BCL, but are not being properly represented.

Bougainville’s Mining Secretary Shadrach Himata said all landowners will be asked for their views as part of the approval process, not just the leaders of the association.”It won’t be affected by the leadership tussle of the SMLOLA landowners.””Right now, the only legal applicant on the exploration tenement is BCL,” he said.

The eventual decision on the exploration licence will be made by the Bougainville Executive Council, the regional government’s Cabinet, probably sometime in 2018.

“Until that process is completed, there are no other applicants or applications over the same tenement. That’s the position of Government.”

Crucially, Mr Himata, said BCL is the only company currently being considered by the Bougainville Government.

“The warden’s hearing is a process that will engage the views of all the landowners in the resource areas,” he said.

“From what we’ve seen, there is widespread support for mining in Panguna and mining with Bougainville Copper,” he said.

Landowners set to weigh in on hearing

“The department didn’t have the resources to manage the application at the time it was taking place,” he said.

“We think they’re less than honourable in how they’re carrying on their conduct and their activities in the area,” BCL company secretary Mark Hitchcock said.

“It is clear the ABG, on the appointment of the new mining minister, supported BCL and the temporary banning of Renzie, I assume, is designed to limit the support that could be afforded to the landowners of Panguna,” he said.

“Our dealings with landowners have been completely transparent and professional.”

“The wages paid are in respect of services rendered to the joint venture,” he said.

The ABG has had the PNG Government ban the key executive from Central Exploration, Sydney lawyer Renzie Duncan, from coming to Papua New Guinea.

“The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) will not entertain companies who use the back door or break and enter through the window using self-centred individuals who think they have a monopoly over the people’s resources or represent their interests,” Mining Minister Raymond Masono said in a statement.

There is a legal dispute over who rightfully chairs the landowner association.

RTG Mining said longstanding resentment against BCL over the conflict and the ongoing environmental problems caused by their sudden withdrawal would prevent the company from being able to operate the mine again.

It wants the Bougainville Government to consider its application instead, saying the landowner association for the mine pit, the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowners Association (SMLOLA), backs its bid and would present a 2,000-signature petition in opposition to BCL.

“[It’s] a sensible and well-supported and economically deliverable proposal to develop the mine for the benefit of all the people of Bougainville,” he said.

That consortium, Central Me’ekamui Exploration Limited, includes ASX-listed RTG Mining.

The hearing will help determine if the company Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), which was forced to abandon the Panguna mine in 1989, should retain an exploration licence for the site.

Part 2 DO NOT MEDDLE WITH PANGUNA SAYS MASONO

By Aloysius Laukai | New Dawn | 6 December 2017

ABG Vice President and Minister for Mining, RAYMOND MASONO is calling on Panguna leaders, PHILIP MIRIORI and LAWRENCE DAVEONA to know that the Panguna mine is no ordinary mine.

He said that the Panguna mine has a bad history that has crippled the economy of PNG and Bougainville and with many lives lost fighting for it.

The Vice President said that the Panguna mine no longer belongs to the landowners because Bougainvilleans blood were spilt over that particular mine.

He said that whilst the resources in Panguna and other parts of Bougainville might belong to the people, the ABG has a responsibility to protect its people from unscrupulous companies whose sole interest is to exploit our people for their own economic interests.

The Vice President said that we have seen how Bougainvilleans were exploited by foreigners since colonial days and the ABG does not want a repeat of the past.

He said that he was surprised that certain individuals can so easily sell their birth right for as little as FOURTY THOUSAND KINA a month to a foreign company when foreign exploitation was one of the issues against which our people fought and died.

Also the ABG rejects companies that think they can bribe their way into the people’s resources by giving certain individuals money to gain landowner consent.

PANGUNA WILL BE DEVELOPED SAYS VICE PRESIDENT

The ABG Vice President and Mining Minister, RAYMOND MASONO says that the PANGUNA MINE in Central Bougainville will be re-developed under the Bougainville Mining Act 2015 and by a developer or developers who respect the Autonomous Bougainville Government and its laws.

In a press statement, MR. MASONO said that the developer must also come through the main door.

MR. MASONO made these remarks when commenting on a statement by RTG of a deal supposedly made between MR. PHILIP MIRIORI and LAWRENCE DAVEONA to support RTG to develop the PANGUNA mine.

He said that it seems ironic that two people who were fighting over the leadership of the Osikayang Landowners Association in court, a mediation case which is still the subject of a court decision can suddenly reconcile to support a company that does not respect the legitimate government and its mining laws.

The Vice President said that the ABG, the landowners and the people of Bougainville will not entertain companies who use the back door or break and enter through the window using self-centred individuals who think that they have a monopoly over the people’s resources or represent their interests.

He said that the landowners will decide who the preferred developer would be through a transparent process undertaken by the ABG Department of Minerals and Energy Resources currently underway.

MR. MASONO said that the process has not yet been exhausted and any deals supposedly made between landowner leaders,companies,or the National Government and in particular RTG are premature at this stage.

Oct 6 2017

Bougainville Mining News : Have plans to restart the giant Bougainville mine stalled ?

SYDNEY, October 6 (Reuters) – Plans to reopen one of the world’s biggest copper mines, shut by a civil war on the Pacific Island of Bougainville in 1989, have run into trouble.

The quarter of a million people of Bougainville are tentatively scheduled to vote on independence from Papua New Guinea in June 2019, and revenue from the reopening of the Panguna mine is essential for the otherwise impoverished island to have any chance of flourishing if it becomes the world’s newest nation.

But there is now a struggle over who will run the mine between Bougainville Copper Ltd – the previous operator now backed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Papua New Guinea government – and a consortium of Australian investors supported by the head of the landowners who own the mineral rights.

The dispute is opening old wounds – and is almost certainly going to delay any reopening. That could help to drive copper prices higher as many forecasters expect that demand for the base metal will exceed supply in the next few years.

The battle lines have been hardening on several fronts, Reuters has learned.

Papua New Guinea has told airlines that Sydney businessman Ian de Renzie Duncan, who set up the consortium, is banned from entering the country until 2024, according to a Papua New Guinea government document reviewed by Reuters.

The request for the ban was made by the Bougainville government, three sources with knowledge of the document said.

The consortium has also acknowledged for the first time that it is paying some landowners a monthly stipend and has pulled in some big backers that have not previously been disclosed.

They include Richard Hains, part of a billionaire Australian race-horse owning family which runs hedge fund Portland House Group.

In a sign of how ugly the row is getting on the ground, local opponents of BCL becoming the operator – and some who are opposed to the mine reopening altogether – blocked Bougainville government officials from entering Panguna in June.

They had hoped to get key landowners to sign a memorandum of agreement that would have endorsed BCL as preferred developer, according to a copy of the document reviewed by Reuters. The proposed agreement also stipulated the mine would be re-opened by June 2019, ahead of BCL’s own timeframe of 2025-26.

The Papua New Guinea government didn’t respond to requests for comment for this story.

Bougainville’s main political leaders say getting the mine reopened is critical. “If the independence of the people is to be sustained then we need Panguna to run,” Bougainville Vice President and Mining Minister Raymond Masono told Reuters in a phone interview.

He said he believes BCL has first right of refusal to operate the mine under laws passed three years ago, and only if BCL declined to take up that right should an open tender take place.

 For a graphic on Panguna mine on Bougainville island, click tmsnrt.rs/2yYCkTt

DEEP RESENTMENT

The abandoned copper and gold mine contains one of the world’s largest copper deposits. During its 17-year life until the closure in 1989, Panguna was credited for generating almost one-half of Papua New Guinea’s gross domestic product.

The civil war was largely about how the profits from the mine should be shared, and about the environmental damage it had caused.

There was deep resentment among the indigenous Bougainville people about the amount of the wealth that was going to Papua New Guinea and to the mine’s then operator, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd, a forerunner of Rio Tinto.

The mine was forced to shut after a campaign of sabotage by the rebel Bougainville Revolutionary Army.

The conflict between Bougainville’s rebel guerrilla army and Papua New Guinea forces left as many as 20,000 dead over the following decade, making it the biggest in the region known as Oceania since the Second World War.

A supplied image shows locals taking shelter from rain under a local administrative building at the former Bougainville Copper Limited’s (BCL) Panguna mining operation located on the Pacific Ocean island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, March 29, 2017. Picture taken March 29, 2017. BCL/Handout via REUTERS

Rio Tinto divested its stake in BCL in 2016, and the listed company is now just over one-third owned by the Bougainville government and one-third owned by Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O‘Neill said last year his government would gift the shares received from Rio, or 17.4 percent, to the people of Bougainville, although that is yet to take place.

“NEVER AGAIN”

The challenge from the Australian consortium that now includes listed gold and copper explorer RTG Mining was made public in June. Duncan and his fellow investors have joined forces with a group of Panguna landowners, the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowner Association (SMLOLA) led by Philip Miriori.

Miriori was in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army as the private secretary to the late Francis Ona, the former BCL mine surveyor who became leader of the resistance.

Ona had declared that BCL should “never again” be allowed to run the mine and Miriori, Ona’s brother-in-law, still supports that stance.

“They have caused a lot of damage, they don’t have the money and they are not telling the truth and so I wouldn’t accept them,” Miriori said in a telephone interview from the Bougainville town of Arawa.

 

PAYOUTS TO LANDOWNERS

Duncan, a former barrister with a background in mining law, heads an entity called Central Exploration that has a half share of the consortium.

Duncan’s consortium has been paying money, described as a stipend, to some of the landowners, but denies this amounts to bribery.

“We are really talking about people receiving a couple of thousand kina ($608) a month,” said Duncan, who added that the money helps the landowners to travel and find accommodation in towns where Panguna negotiations take place. “It’s not bribery, it’s business,” he said.

BCL claims to have the support of eight other landowner groups in Bougainville with an interest in the project. They have land rights covering access roads and the port site, among other areas, though crucially not the mine site itself.

BCL chairman Robert Burns, who formerly worked for Rio Tinto, said Bougainvilleans were the ones being impacted by Duncan’s attempt to gain control of the mine. “Everyone is being frustrated and impeded by this issue,” Burns told Reuters in a phone interview from the PNG capital, Port Moresby.

FINANCING DOUBTS

The uncertainty is going to make it difficult for either group to raise the capital that will be needed to get the mine restarted.

In 2012, BCL estimated the cost of re-opening at $5 billion. With few of its own assets, the company would need to secure the mining rights before tapping capital markets.

The Australian consortium may be in a stronger position, according to Hains, who is a 15 percent owner of RTG. He said the consortium has strong access to the North American capital markets and could re-develop Panguna in a “highly timely fashion”.

As it stands, BCL has no mine without the support of the owners of the minerals, and Duncan’s group has no project without road and port rights as well as government support.

Anthony Regan, a constitutional lawyer at the Australian National University and an adviser to the Bougainville government, said the immediate outlook for the mine is bleak. “The need of Bougainville to have a significant source of revenue if it’s to be really autonomous or independent has become hopelessly enmeshed with the future of Panguna.”

Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Editing by Martin Howell

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
 
Jun 16 2017

Bougainville Mining News : Bougainville Copper Limited’s Panguna mine hits roadblock from protesters

 ” The push to reopen a controversial copper mine on the island of Bougainville has suffered a setback, with opposition groups stopping the region’s government from going to the mine site and signing a new agreement with landowners.”

Reported from ABC Australia

The Panguna mine was abandoned by Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) in 1989 after disaffection from landowners grew into an armed uprising and a push for independence from Papua New Guinea.

The President and Cabinet of the Autonomous Bougainville Government had planned to go to the Panguna mine site to sign an agreement that would allow BCL to work towards reopening the mine.

But so-called “hardline” groups and other opponents, led by angry women, blocked the road and demanded the Government and the company abandon their plans.

BCL blamed for crisis and ‘destruction’

Many of the women were not from the specific mine area but say they were affected by the horror of the Bougainville Crisis — the armed uprising in which 20,000 people died.

Panguna mine protesters stand in a line holding signs that say "No Mining! No BCL!". Photo: Many of the protesters are opposed to BCL because they blame it for the Bougainville Crisis. (ABC News: Eric Tlozek)

“I don’t want mining to be opened, no BCL, no mining. Because land is owned by the women, not the men,” said Regina Erengmari, one of the women in the blockade.

Many of the protesters are specifically opposed to BCL returning, because they blame it for the crisis.

But others, like Bernardine Kama, are opposed to any company reopening the mine.

“I grew up within the damages and the destructions of the mine and I know much destruction has been done,” she said.

But there are many people from the area who want negotiations about reopening the mine to begin.

Panguna’s nine landowner associations were expecting to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Autonomous Bougainville Government to say the mine would reopen and that BCL would operate it.

Theresa Jaintong, who chairs one of the landowner associations, said signing the agreement is important.

“It’s important to me because I have issues to address with BCL and also the government, all other landowners and also representing my own people, and we were looking forward to sign and then open the door to other outstanding issues,” she said.

Panguna mine protesters wave their hands and fists in the air and hold a sign that says "No Mining! No BCL!" at a roadblock. Photo: Protesters blocked the Government going to the site and signing a new agreement with owners. (ABC News: Eric Tlozek)

Government needs mine’s revenue for independence

Bougainville’s government is in a hurry to reopen the mine, because it needs the revenue if it wants to be viable as an independent country from Papua New Guinea.

President John Momis said the mine is critical to any proposal for independence.

“Will independence be possible without Panguna mine? I don’t think it is possible,” he said.

The Government is now waiting two weeks while the groups negotiate and is planning a public information campaign.

In two years’ time, there will be a referendum on Bougainville to determine if the region should secede from Papua New Guinea.

Some opponents have threatened violence if the proposal to reopen the mine proceeds.

But President Momis says the Government will continue to work towards reopening Panguna, because it believes it’s the best way to provide for the people most affected by its closure.

“This government is committed to make sure that people who have been most detrimentally affected, and the landowners have been in Panguna, we have to look after them,” he said.

Panguna mine in Bougainville Photo: The Panguna mine was abandoned in 1989 after an armed uprising known as the Bougainville Crisis. (AAP Image: Ilya Gridneff)
Jun 1 2017

Bougainville News Feature 2 of 2 : After 27 years , #Panguna landowners compensated by #BCL

” HAVING lost much of their precious land and rivers, landowners in and around Panguna do have grievances. But welcoming the culprit back into their midst to remedy some conflicts is a goal they see as paramount to the progress of Bougainville as a whole.

Thus the communities of the Upper Tailings prepared for almost a month for the day when the mining company, Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), would pay them compensation outstanding since 1990 – 27 years before.”

Reprinted with the kind permission of LEONARD FONG ROKA

BCL had a cordial welcome from the people of my home Enamira Village in the heart of the Upper Tailings area of the Panguna District.

A short traditional ceremony to mend broken ties and restore relations with the community of the Tumpusiong Valley, as it is known widely today, began the day. This was followed by speeches that emphasised concord, collaboration and remediation of all the issues attached to the Panguna mine.

It was a go-forward for Bougainville because BCL was giving the mine-affected people a sign that the physical destruction of their land and life by mining no longer meant they had been deserted by the company responsible for their destitution.

BCL, the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and other stakeholders were led by BCL manager Justin (Ted) Rogers.

Their mission was to verify and help locals finalise legal documents and bank accounts for title holders of land areas leased by BCL all those years ago.

The money ought to have been paid in 1990 but the Bougainville conflict of 1988-97 got in the way. Thus only now the people of the Panguna District queued to get what was owed to them by BCL.

This prevented possible eruption of conflict and maintained harmony within the Upper Tailings lease and its community members.

The tailings of the Panguna mine is in three sectors: the Lower Tailings (South Bougainville’s Bana District), the Mid-Tailings (Jaba to Konnuku Village) and the Upper Tailings (Tonanau Village to Dingumori).

In money terms there was a great variation in compensation depending on the size of the land blocks subject to royalties. The Lower Tailings, geographically a vast plain stretching from the Mid-Tailings to the coast, received a massive amount of K1 million-plus. The Mid-Tailings took about half-a-million while we in the Upper Tailings get something less than K50,000.

According to sources, the Special Mining Lease land title holders from areas directly around the mine will get close to a million kina.

BCL spent four days in the Upper Tailings with the people. Where disputes arose amongst people over land titles, BCL directed them to share the benefits. Thus peace prevailed.

Happy faces came out of the buildings where people were interacting with BCL and ABG officials. Above all, BCL manager Rogers was everywhere chatting and smiling with the people.

As BCL and its entourage left, the people stood by feeling relieved. What some of their elders had long waited for had materialised.

Many in the Upper Tailings are now telling themselves to make good use of the BCL money so it will have some lasting positive impact on their lives and the community as a whole.

They are telling themselves not to be like the Arawa Villagers who received K3 million from the national government for the lease of the land in the Arawa township but hardly have seen any tangible development.

They say the whole of Bougainville is watching us – and peace is intact as my people flock into Arawa, where the bank is, to get and use that BCL money

Jun 1 2017

Bougainville News feature 1 of 2 : Panguna in hindsight – yes , hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

 ” Every picture tells a story. Every story a picture tells may not be a perfect story but, as another saying goes, there’s more to the picture than meets the eye. 

There is a certain poignancy about this picture – and many other images connected with the multitude of matters surrounding Panguna. 

Panguna is not merely a history of mining, minerals, money, maiming and the nastiness of the conflict. It is not only a story of lost lives, lost land and lost opportunities. 

This photograph shows a woman, leading her male counterparts in the early days of the dispute involving one group of Panguna landowners voicing, in a very public way, early warnings of what might follow.”

Article by Simon Pentanu  

Panguna is a story of many individuals and groups; of men, women and children of the forest, the valleys, the ravines, the hills and mountains, the rivers and creeks and sacred sites – all of which people called home, before mining arrived. 

Perpetua Serero and Francis Ona both passed away relatively young. The effervescent Damien Dameng – the one with reading glasses studying his notes in this photo – lost his life under dubious circumstances only in recent times. 

Francis Bitanuma with the white cap and overgrown beard in this photo, is still around, raising his voice and picking and choosing his fights but with fewer and fewer local allies in tow.

Perpetua Serero had remarkable poise and presence. Had her voice as Chairlady of a splinter Panguna Landowners Association (PLOA) been heeded when she spoke (either with or without the aid of a hand-held loud hailer), some of the fiasco and hurt amongst the landowners could well have been mitigated, if not largely avoided.

Instead, the very early feuds over Panguna over benefits accruing from the land under various leases to BCL were between landowners themselves. Only a dishonest landowner would deny this was the case.

Disputes and differences over land sharing, land use and land tenure preceded the arrival of mining in Panguna. But these were localized and tended to be confined within households, extended families and clans. Agreements were brokered to resolve issues or at least keep them to manageable levels. There were ways for everyone to move on, living and communally sharing the land, rivers, creeks, the environment and everything that more or less made life worth living and dying for. 

Differences and feuds over the benefits accruing from the mine such as RMTL (Road Mining Tailings Lease) payments and other payments added fuel to existing disputes between clans, families and relatives. Some of the disputes became vexatious with the advent of mining.

Mining catapulted Panguna women like Perpetua Serero, Cecilia Gemel and others to the forefront as they took on much more active and pronounced roles as mothers of the land in a society that is largely matrilineal. 

This photograph shows a woman, leading her male counterparts in the early days of the dispute involving one group of Panguna landowners voicing, in a very public way, early warnings of what might follow.

The significance of her message was either lost to or not taken seriously by most leaders from central Bougainville, BCL, PLOA and relevant authorities in the national Government at the time.  

That men are  on the periphery of the photo – in stark contrast to the lead role  being played by Serero at the front – wasn’t just symbolic. It was real. Her position at the front, with the support of  men such as Francis Bitanuma, Francis Ona, Damien Dameng and others was neither incidental, coincidental nor accidental. Her role at the forefront of this dispute over land was natural and logical, because in most of Bougainville it is through the women that land is inherited and passed down the generations. 

That more and more landowners became willing to front up in crowds such as this, emboldened by the willing maternal leadership of someone who stood up to carry the mantle of those that bore grievances against their own PLOA, led by men. Serero, and the landowners who stood with her, made a brave and significant statement. 

As the differences grew, the younger Panguna generation – alongside women like Serero and Gemel and the emerging, vociferous Francis Ona – turned their attention to Rio and BCL.

Increasingly they saw BCL and the old PLOA as having all the control and influence over what happened in special mining lease (SML) area. The injustice felt in not having much say weighed heavily and became a rallying point as captured in this photo.

All of us observing, reading and writing about the upheavals over Panguna, the mounting dissatisfaction, the criticism of the Bougainville Copper Agreement (BCA) and the rebellious response that shut down the giant mining operations, may find some satisfaction in the common truism that hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The BCA was a document familiar mostly to lawyers, investors and bankers and, of course, to the mining fraternity. It was not until well after the first power pylons fell, after deployment of the security forces and after the mine was closed that interest increase in reading the fine print of the BCA. Coming, as they did, from a paperless village life, many landowners and Bougainvilleans in the community at large found little compulsion to read, let alone understand and appreciate legal agreements.

When the going was good everything was hunky dory. The landowners were getting their lease payments, social inconvenience compensations, royalties etc. The provincial government was doing well and was  financially better placed than others in the country. Employees couldn’t really complain about the job opportunities, good salaries and wages.

The majority of the landowners the BCA was purported to serve turned against it, despised and rebelled against it. 

It is a story new generation of Panguna landowners is born into. It is not a story restricted to past or the future. Rather, it is a story that evokes timeless lessons and has some relevance for all of us forever throughout our lifetime.

It is true, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I have heard a lot about Perpetua  

Serero. I never met her. I will never meet her in person because she has passed on. 

She served her calling with tremendous support from men and women of the land. She had faith in customs and traditions that gave equal opportunities to women. These customs and traditions gave her the mantle and legitimacy to lead protests against the male dominated RMTL executives in the Panguna Landowners Association. 

She faced an awful amount of pressure because of intense feuding over control of PLOA and RMTL in Panguna. She took the baton and ran her lap hoping to influence and change some of the male dominated status quo in the old PLOA.

The Australian Liberal and Labor colonial governments clearly saw what was going on and regarded Panguna mine as the Achilles heel of a future, independent PNG. 

 Men like Ona, Bitanuma, Dameng and women like Serero, Gemel and others gradually realised that unless they stood up and were counted, taking a stand against the inequities they saw, they would be swamped and inundated by the complacency that was prevalent, accepted, and that supported a Panguna that seemed all normal driven by profits and benefits of mining. 

There are lessons Rio and BCL learnt out of the land dispute. Some of these lessons are harsh. Some even the best legal agreements cannot address, avert or fix, for they are based in customs and culture, not common law. 

Panguna may be most uncommon dispute or problem of its time that a foreign mining company has had to face and deal with. Its repercussions and reverberations spread through Bougainville and indeed around the world very quickly.

It has unearthed lessons that go well beyond issues normally associated with mining.

The Bel Kol approach initiated by the landowners shows traditional societies also have ways, means and mechanisms by which to resolve seemingly intractable disputes. These ways are local, restorative and win-win in their approach, not adversarial, competitive and foreign.

Some of the continuing pain, ill effects and trauma over lost land and lost dignity over Panguna are more destabilizing and debilitating than the crisis and conflict that landowners and many other Bougainvilleans endured.  

Everyone that has lived through the crisis on the Island or has been affected one way or another, directly or indirectly, has had to deal with the horrors of crisis, war and conflict. Rebuilding lives, normalcy and returning to a resilient society is a longer journey that will take many generations over many lifetimes.

Little wonder people are prepared to protect their rights and defend the land with their lives. It is true, isn’t it, that one cannot fully understand and appreciate peace and freedom unless you either lose it or you have been suppressed.

I hope looking back we can pass on to the next generation the genuine benefits of hindsight.

 

May 9 2017

Bougainville Mining News : Historic decision to accept applications for exploration licenses in mining on Bougainville.

 ” The Autonomous Bougainville Government has taken a huge step in its drive to develop the mining industry on Bougainville as it made the historic decision to accept applications for exploration licenses in mining on Bougainville.”

Picture above : Symbolic reconciliation between Sam Kauona and ABG President John Momis to solve grudges from mining negotiations

 ” The ABG has pledged to push for the interests of the landowners in any resource development exercise that it partakes in on Bougainville.

ABG President Chief Dr John Momis made the rousing statement to the landowners of the Isina, Jaba and Tore areas where the ABG has lifted the moratorium on mining exploration.

“If we are to re-establish mining operations, it must be a cooperative approach, consultation must occur and your rights must be at the forefront of all considerations. This is my view and this is my belief, and as your president I will always put your interests first,”

Momis to landowners by Anthony Kaybing article 2 below

This follows the partial lifting of the Mining and Exploration Moratorium on Bougainville that allows the ABG to grant licenses to would be investors interested in developing the mining sector on Bougainville.

A proud ABG President Chief Dr John Momis said the event marks an historical occasion and one that marks the beginning and resetting of relations between the people of Bougainville and the mining sector.

“As we move towards the Independence Referendum in 2019 and continue our journey towards full autonomy and reconciliation, it is timely to reflect on the work that has been done and the progress that has been made,” Momis said.

“Under the Agreement Bougainville must actively work towards achieving financial self-reliance. What that means is that we must find ways to generate revenue and income so that we can meet the needs of all Bougainvilleans in the future,” Momis said.

Momis added that mining and exploration is just one way that we can do this.

“But let me be clear, the announcement on 28 April 2017 is not about revisiting the past. It is not about going back to doing things the old way which caused conflict and concern, it is about putting in place a cautious and sustainable process that allows Bougainville to embark on a new journey of partnership –  a journey where landowners, the Government and mining and exploration companies work together to ensure that the interests of Bougainville are always at the forefront of any decisions on whether to embark upon new mining projects, or rehabilitate existing mining sites,” Momis said.

The decision to lift the moratorium allows the Government to become more involved in these activities through regulation and the promotion of environmental protection and safety, ensuring that mining activities are undertaken responsibly and in accordance with the law.

For the Government’s part, the ABG’s Department of Mineral and Energy Resources is ready to take this work forward.

This will be a whole-of-government process involving many departments, including Lands, Physical Planning and the Environment, Economic Development, Justice, Personnel Management and Administration and President and BEC.

In making the decision to partially lift the moratorium, the Bougainville Executive Council has carefully considered the implications of development, the capacity of government to manage exploration applications and the needs of our people.

The strategic lifting of the moratorium in Tore, Isina and Jaba will play a critical part in enhancing Bougainville’s economic future, without losing sight of the need for environmental protection and monitoring systems to regulate exploration activities.

“I believe in you and I have faith that all Bougainvilleans want to move forward in prosperity where sustainable economic development helps everyone and allows us to achieve our self-determination goals,” Momis said.

article 2 Momis to landowners by Anthony Kaybing

The ABG has pledged to push for the interests of the landowners in any resource development exercise that it partakes in on Bougainville.

ABG President Chief Dr John Momis made the rousing statement to the landowners of the Isina, Jaba and Tore areas where the ABG has lifted the moratorium on mining exploration.

“If we are to re-establish mining operations, it must be a cooperative approach, consultation must occur and your rights must be at the forefront of all considerations. This is my view and this is my belief, and as your president I will always put your interests first,” Momis said.

President Momis made a call upon each of the landowner groups to play an active role in this process and to use the negotiation and consultation mechanisms available to them.

“If you have concerns then these must be addressed peacefully and lawfully, lest Bougainville make the same mistakes of the past,” Momis said.

“I believe in you and I have faith that all Bougainvilleans want to move forward in prosperity where sustainable economic development helps everyone and allows us to achieve our self-determination goals,” he added.

The moratorium does not cover the controversial Panguna Mine but the ABG and the National Government have publicly committed to working with Bougainville Copper Limited to restart mining operations after Bougainville gained a majority stake in the now defunct mine.

This will also occur in a manner that is consultative and takes into account the wishes of the respective landowners groups.

And while the Government has indicated broad support for the work of BCL, this is on the basis that under law they have the first right to re-develop the mine.

“Let me be clear, I will be watching this process very closely to ensure that BCL honour their obligations, adhere to our laws and not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Momis stressed.

The President in his discussions with BCL has received their strong a commitment that the company intends to learn from the lessons of the past and work with landowner groups to ensure your needs and wants are addressed.

“To achieve this, the Prime Minister and I have agreed to establish a steering committee to guide future operations at Panguna,” Momis said.

“This committee will have an independent chair and include representatives from landowner groups, governments, regulatory agencies, NGOs and BCL,” he added.

The announcement for the partial lifting of the moratorium is a cautious approach. As President I want to move forward carefully.  I do not want to see whole-sale mining across Bougainville.