In late November and early December of 1988 part of the operations of Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) came under attack resulting in damage to some facilities. Explosives were stolen from the mine magazine by armed men, two buildings were burnt down and a number of other buildings and items of equipment were damaged. On two occasions, transmission pylons carrying power from the coastal power station to the mine were felled using explosives. Although the power supply was rapidly restored on both occasions, in order to minimise further loss and interruption to business, production could not be resumed after the second incident until steps were taken by the National Government to secure BCL’s employees and assets.
