Bougainville mine seeks funding, but past environmental damage remains unaddressed
The island, which has been seeking independence from Papua New Guinea since the late 1980s, is looking for funds to start mining activities in Panguna, with the approval of Port Moresby. But a recent report points out that water sources and soil still contain metals and toxic substances, 30 years after the mine shut down due to civil war.
Port Moresby (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Ishmael Toroama, president of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Island, has announced that he is looking for foreign investors to reopen the Panguna mine, the third-largest open cut gold and copper mine in the world, run by the Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto until 2016.
The statement comes after the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) James Marape said that the island will have to be able to fund at least half of its budget.
“We start with economic independence as a fundamental basis, because once you have the money you are able to sustain,” Marape said at a resources conference in Sydney. Bougainville's internal revenue of 7 per cent was insufficient to "get up, get going", he explained. "We need to raise this at the very earliest to about 50 per cent of funding.”
The island of Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands, but belongs to Papua New Guinea, from which it seeks independence.
The environmental damage generated by mining exacerbated the aspirations for autonomy and in 1989 an armed insurrection resulted in civil war, which lasted until 1998, resulting in the death of at least 15,000 people.
The peace process, which began in 2001 with the Arawa Agreement, mediated by New Zealand, led in 2019 to a referendum – not yet ratified by the PNG Parliament – in which more than 98 per cent of voters expressed their support for independence.
In January this year, the government of the autonomous region issued a licence for copper exploration to Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), with expectations that the Panguna mine could generate US$ 36 billion in revenue over 20 years.
Before closing in 1989, the mine represented half of Papua New Guinea's exports.
“We have to further sign an MOU with Rio Tinto and Bougainville Copper Limited for commencement of works of ageing infrastructure that pose imminent and severe risks to affected communities and further the talks,” Toroama said. “Bougainville continues to stand out as a lesson, a warning, a reminder of what not to do in resource sector development," he added.
But so far no environmental remediation has been carried out. A recent report notes that, even after 30 years of inactivity, the mine continues to be a source of serious environmental damage, paid by the Indigenous population.
The pit, levee, roads and several old buildings are at extreme or high risk of collapse, reads the "Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment", which was drafted after an appeal filed by a group of citizens against Rio Tinto in 2020.
The company did not agree to pay compensation to the population, but funded the investigation by the Tetra Tech Coffey Organization.
The document goes on to say that flooding caused by the mine has impacted farmland, access to water, and essential services. In addition, toxic chemicals were detected in old fuel storage tanks, shipping containers, a sewage treatment plant, and soil samples.
Although the water quality of the Kawerong-Jaba River, whose banks are home to about 12-14,000 people, has improved over the years, some springs continue to be harmful due to metal contamination.
“It is now time for Rio Tinto to come out public and make its commitment known to the people so that it can restore its trust as a company, as an institution," said Theonilla Roka Matbob, Bougainville government member.
“What's so hard about Real Tinto committing that same energy as it did some 34 years ago in [establishing the mine at] Bougainville, to also manage and control the damage that it has created?” she asks.
A first memorandum of understanding between Rio Tinto, Bougainville Copper Limited, and the local government for infrastructural remediation in the city of Panguna was signed in August of this year. But the work envisaged by the agreement does not cover risk areas identified by the environmental impact assessment.
“We remain committed to working closely with stakeholders to ensure that the legacy of the Panguna mine is addressed in a fair and equitable manner for the benefit of impacted communities,” said general manager Kellie Parker in a statement issued following the publication of the report.
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06/10/2021 15:35
29/04/2016 16:53
