This is a 1960s era, colour movie about the Bougainville Copper Project in Papua, New Guinea. Opened in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the mine at Panguna was officially opened in 1972 and was majority-owned by Rio Tinto. The mine was vitally important to the economy of Papua New Guinea. The PNG national government received a 20% share of profit from the mine, of which the Bougainvilleans received 5% - 1.25% share of the total profit.
The movie opens on a beach with palm trees. A family carries large, tropical leaves up a hill. A volcano smokes. Heavy machinery mines the mountainside 1:30. A truck drives through a large quarry 1:50. Ore is dumped into the primary crusher 2:10. The Bougainville Copper Project. Rocks are crushed and sorted 2:51. The ore processing consists of four stages as the rocks are crushed into less than half inch units 3:40. The pulp is sent to the flotation station 4:15. The copper slurry is then pumped to the seacoast 4:38. Vacuum filters remove the water from the copper slurry in the containers and dried for shipping 5:03. A 16th century map 5:41. Louis-Antoine de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. He took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolutionary War against Britain. Bougainville later gained fame for his expeditions, including circumnavigation of the globe in a scientific expedition in 1763 and the first recorded settlement on the island of Bougainville. Fruit trees and fauna 6:24. Clouds in the mountains 6:45. Missionaries hold mass 7:17. Men crush rocks in the river looking for minerals 8:05. In-depth copper exploration started in 1964 8:15. Man in the laboratory testing the soil for copper content 8:54. Computers anticipate marketing and management challenges for the exploration 12:05. Excavating begins in the Crown Prince Range 9:21. Explosives are set under rocks 9:45. The mine at Panguna was opened in 1972 and was majority-owned by Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian multinational and the world's second largest metals and mining corporations 10:00. Melbourne Australia 10:06. Bougainville Copper Limited 10:15. Men discuss the new project in Papua New Guinea 10:35. A man uses a 3-D map to plan the excavation 11:04. Heavy fuel storage tanks 11:30. Computers tabulate the needs for materials and labor 11:52. View of Melbourne, Australia 12:09. Power station generators are built as lead line items in other countries 12:50. Production of plant items begin in are shipped to New Guinea. The natives of Papua New Guinea are to be trained to work in the copper mines 14:03. The access road to the mine is cut 14:22. Construction required filling the swamp 14:40. Jungle vines are cut back 15:10. Land clearing begins 15:40. Traditional earth-moving methods are employed 16:00. Concrete is poured for foundations 16:15. Heavy rains flood the site 16:40. 6 inches of rain per hour. Port installations continue at the bay 17:25. The power station requires extensive earthwork 17:42. The power plant will supply the towns of Arawa and Panguna with electricity as well as to the mining facility 18:05. 3,000 inhabitants of Panguna will work at the mine 18:40. The cities are built 19:15. New services are provided with trained personnel 19:33. A professor trains the people of Papua New Guinea to work in the mine 20:00. Different equipment is displayed in demonstrated 20:30. Large dumb truck rolls through the mine 20:55. Karoona “Maket” 21:14. New methods of commerce are employed 21:30. A Shell gas station 21:35. A ship in the bay 22:07. The Duke of Edinburgh visits in 1971 22:25. Prince Philip tours the mine 22:53. 90,000 tons of ore will be processed each day 23:15. A large dump truck is lowered from a ship for work at the mine 23:40. Equipment from Japan arrives for storage at the mine 24:00. Rock crushers weighing 24 tons 24:20. The men break for lunch in the tropical forest 24:45. Construction continues at a rapid pace 25:27. Control room and men monitor the equipment 26:35. A map overlays the scene at the mine 27:04. Bougainville. Local workers work the mine and ships in the bay in the new economy 27:44.
And here are some rare shots of Panguna, Loloho and Arawa:
