Rio Tinto, Bougainville Community Residents To Assess Legacy Impacts Of Panguna Mine
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Rio Tinto and Bougainville community members, represented by the Human Rights Law Centre, have reached an agreement to identify and assess legacy impacts of the former Panguna copper mine in Bougainville.
A joint committee of stakeholders will be formed to oversee a detailed independent assessment of the Panguna mine to identify and better understand actual and potential environmental and human rights impacts of the mine which ceased operating in 1989, Rio Tinto said.
The Panguna mine was operated by ASX-listed Bougainville Copper Limited BCL, majority owned by Rio Tinto, for 17 years from 1972 until 1989, when operations were suspended due to an uprising against the mine and subsequent civil war.