The Die Was Cast - My Journey to New Guinea

News items from Bougainville

The Bougainville Aftermath

For your listening pleasure: TAIM BILONG MASTA

70 years of PIM are now available on the internet - click here

A new online library servicing the Pacific: digitalpasifik.org

RETURN TO TOP OF BLOG

If something on this blog doesn't work, please contact the janitor
Alternatively, contact the Helpdesk

15 January 2017

Longyear at Bougainville


Sadly, unreliable Eastmancolor was used for printing this copy of the original film and the print has faded badly with loss of the reds and blue/greens making it almost monochrome now.

Drilling for copper on Bougainville Island in 1964 using the revolutionary new Longyear Triple Tube Wireline Core Barrel specially developed to properly assess the quality of the very broken copper orebody in the highlands of this mountainous and remote island. Shows spectacular aerial views of this beautiful, rugged island and the huge success of the Longyear Triple Tube Core Barrel right from its first use drilling deep into the broken orebody! For the first time, it enabled the high copper content of the very rich orebody to be determined and a decision made on going ahead with develoment of the hugely valuable copper mine in this very difficult and politically unsettled location.

The tribal conflict of the Bougainville Revolution brought operations to a close shortly after this film was made and the orebody is today one of the world's richest unmined copper deposits.