Panguna is a town and a (now decommissioned)

copper mine Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

on Bougainville Island,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. It was owned and operated by

Bougainville Copper Ltd Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island in PNG from 1971 ...

, a subsidiary of

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

. Beginning operations in 1972, the company hired thousands of workers, most from other parts of the country. By the end of its operations on May 15, 1989, when the mine was closed because of an armed uprising on the island, it was the largest

open-pit mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...

in the world. It was accused of contaminating large areas due to its toxic waste, which affected land, water and air. Resentment against the environmental poisoning and the fact that most profits left the island, were major catalysts in the

unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil unrest * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical in ...

in Bougainville in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to the

Bougainville conflict The Bougainville conflict, also known as the Bougainville Civil War, was a multi-layered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the North Solomons Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) between PNG and the secessionist forces of the Bougainvill ...

, which lasted from 1988 until 1998. In 2011 it was reported that former PNG Prime Minister Sir

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

had alleged that Rio Tinto played a role in the conflict by helping finance the actions of the PNG government in Bougainville during the conflict in an attempt to allow the mine to be reopened.Callick, Rowan (16 July 2011)
"Battle intensifies over Bougainville copper"
The Australian. Sydney: News Corp Australia. ISSN 1038-8761.

References

External links

Google Maps link to the Panguna open cut mine
Populated places in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Surface mines in Papua New Guinea Mining communities in Oceania Copper mines in Papua New Guinea {{Bougainville-geo-stub

See also

References

External links