Over the picturesque, green jagged terrain of Bougainville’s Crown Prince Range, the Panguna mine has sat idle for more than 30 years.
It is a mine with a chequered and somewhat haunting past due to its association with some of the island’s darkest days. Tracing its history takes us back to 1966 when intrepid geologists confirmed the existence of vast copper and gold ore deposits in the Panguna valley. By 1972 the mine was in full operation under Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto, formerly CRA.
On the 15th May 1989, production came to a halt as a result of militant activity which escalated into a civil war. Land rights and the distribution of Panguna mining profits were among some of the issues central to the hostilities.
In the 17 years prior to 1989, the mine produced concentrate containing 3 million tonnes of copper from one of the largest concentrations of copper phosphate anywhere in the world. In addition, Panguna also yielded 306 tonnes of gold and 784 tonnes of silver. The mine had a production value of 5.2 billion Kina and accounted for 44 per cent of PNG’s exports during its period of operation.
Around 1.2 billion Kina was contributed in taxes, duties, dividends and other payments to the PNG government, the former North Solomons Provincial Government and Panguna landowners which represented about 62 per cent of the net cash generated by the project.
During the mine’s life, Bougainville Copper also trained some 12,000 employees, including around 1,000 full trade apprentices and some 400 who completed tertiary studies. This upskilling enhanced the capacity of the national workforce and benefited other areas of the economy after Panguna’s closure. The practices put in place by Bougainville Copper continue to positively impact the global mining industry to this day.
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