u. das bevor diese Press-Release publiziert wurde.Kein Verkaufsdruck, ein (fast) leeres Orderbuch auf der Verkäuferseite.
http://210.193.160.7/netwealth2/depth/boc
Mal sehen wie es an der ASX heute Nacht weitergeht.
Release Date: 02/04/15 18:57
Summary: Letter to Shareholders Taxation Mediation
Events of Significance to June 30, 2013
The first half of 2013
has been notable for the increasing alignment of all key stakeholders
behind the move to reâ€start the Panguna mine.
A series of five
regional forums instigated by the Autonomous Bougainville Government has
been completed, engaging all communities from the Atolls ans Buka, to
Arawa, and Buin. The sixth forum is to be held in Panguna and is planned
for late August.
Strong support for the reâ€opening of the mine has been reported.
Exâ€combatants
actively participated in this forum process, and are engaged with
President John Momis regarding a reâ€start of mining on Bougainville, and
the restoration of normalcy to civil society.
It has been
reported that President Momis and former militant Sam Kauona have
reconciled, and reached agreement on mutually acceptable terms of ABG
mining legislation, and three significant exâ€combatant leaders have also
settled longâ€standing disputes between themselves, and agreed to allow
safe passage to visitors and investors to formerly closed areas.
At
the same time, four meetings of the Joint Panguna Negotiation
Coâ€ordination Committee [JCC] have been held, facilitating preparations
for formal mine redevelopment processes, and the scoping and conduct of
baseline social, economic and environmental studies. This committee has
high level representation from the Governments of PNG and Bougainville,
as well as the Landowners and BCL, with inputs from agencies including
the United Nations Environment Program.
Issues
being addressed with the formallyâ€constituted United Panguna Mine
Affected Landowner Association include Bel Kol (reconciliation
ceremonies), outstanding 1989/90 compensation payments, landowner
relocation and resettlement, and skills training for future mining
operations.
It is anticipated that the completion of the symbolic
Bel Kol process will be followed by a formal invitation from the ABG,
Landowners and Exâ€combatants to BCL, to reâ€establish an office on
Bougainville. This process is scheduled for the latter half of the year.
BCL’s
upgraded Order of Magnitude Study has been was compiled to provide
stakeholders with some general backgrounding on the OMS (following BCL’s
announcement of its completion at the April AGM), study assumptions and
other relevant information. Presentations have been given to:
• President Momis and the Bougainville Executive Committee (BEC)
• Joint Panguna Negotiation Coordination Committee (JCC)
• Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) and the Department of Mineral Policy
and Geoâ€hazards.
•
Government diplomats from the Australian, New Zealand, United Kingdom,
and the United States governments, as well as potential development
partners.
Da decken sich wohl Friends & Family der in die Verhandlungen Involvierten ein ;-))
PricesDateOpenHighLowCloseVolumeAdj Close*
17 Jul 20130.400.450.400.45415,1000.4516 Jul 20130.400.400.400.40315,0000.4015 Jul 20130.400.400.400.40474,2000.4012 Jul 20130.400.410.400.41330,7000.4111 Jul 20130.400.400.380.40169,7000.4010 Jul 20130.400.400.400.4073,2000.409 Jul 20130.400.400.400.4055,0000.408 Jul 20130.400.400.390.40135,2000.405 Jul 20130.400.400.400.40113,3000.404 Jul 20130.400.430.400.4387,3000.433 Jul 20130.410.410.400.40161,7000.402 Jul 20130.430.430.410.42159,6000.421 Jul 20130.430.430.430.43124,4000.4328 Jun 20130.430.430.410.43117,4000.4327 Jun 20130.450.450.450.4500.4526 Jun 20130.450.450.450.4515,5000.4525 Jun 20130.460.460.450.458,8000.4524 Jun 20130.460.460.460.465,2000.4621 Jun 20130.480.480.460.4627,6000.4620 Jun 20130.460.460.460.466,5000.4619 Jun 20130.470.490.450.452,1000.4518 Jun 20130.460.470.450.4745,3000.4717 Jun 20130.470.470.470.4700.4714 Jun 20130.490.490.470.4755,3000.4713 Jun 20130.500.500.480.49135,0000.4912 Jun 20130.500.500.500.50346,0000.5011 Jun 20130.500.500.490.5074,7000.5010 Jun 20130.490.490.490.4900.497 Jun 20130.490.490.490.492,0000.496 Jun 20130.500.500.500.5043,5000.505 Jun 20130.480.480.480.4833,4000.484 Jun 20130.500.500.470.4822,1000.483 Jun 20130.500.500.500.502,0000.50
http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa…oad-for-bougainville.html
LEONARD FONG ROKA
BOUGAINVILLE’S
LEADERS AND political authorities and are looking at the Panguna
District – site of the former copper and gold mine - as the catalyst for
an economic leap for the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea in the
north of the Solomon Islands archipelago.
In terms of natural
resources, Bougainville is the largest and the richest island of the
Solomon archipelago. In 1899 it became part of the German New Guinea
colonial administration that used it as the launching pad for its New
Guinea civilising effort taken over by the Australians after World War
I.
In the 1960s, as the
colonial ruler, Australia, preparing its New Guinea territory for
nationhood, approved the development of the Panguna mine that became an
important factor triggering the Bougainvillean struggle for self
determination since.
Bougainville ended up part
of the independent PNG state in 1975; but the accommodation kept PNG
quaking as the protests in Bougainville continued.
In 1988, after all the
years of dissatisfaction and peaceful protest by Bougainvilleans, the
Panguna mine became the catalyst of action to tear down PNG’s
exploitative rule of the Solomon Island people of Bougainville.
A decade later, with the
dawn of the Bougainville peace process, the Panguna District leadership
played a significant role in finding a solution to the conflict that had
sacrificed the lives of some 15,000 Bougainvilleans and much property
destruction.
But internal politics in the Kieta area affected progress in development and peace-building for the Central Bougainville region.
The conflict had being
complicated and without much room for understanding and negotiation;
thus it had divided the people. Kieta had seen factions led by men like
Chris Uma, Moses Pipiro and Ishmael Toroama.
With Bougainvillean
leaders looking at the Panguna mine as the economic driver for the
future development of Bougainville after the referendum planned
2015-2019, there are moves by the people across Bougainville calling for
the re-opening of the mine.
There is evidence that this is creating change in the hearts and minds of the Panguna people.
A few months ago, leaders
in Panguna created the Panguna Peace Building Strategy (PPBS) that is
now playing significant roles in uniting the people of the District.
Operating under the
Panguna District Administration, the strategy now oversees the peoples’
views on mining in the villages not only of Panguna but across many
areas of Central Bougainville and South Bougainville’s Bana District.
Landowners understand what
the leaders of the Autonomous Bougainville Government want. Last week,
all Panguna mine site landowners from Pirurari, Dapera, Moroni and Guava
met in Panguna with the Panguna Peace Building Strategy to voice their
concerns over the re-opening issue.
The landowners said they
are willing to welcome mining to help finance the compensation for lives
and property lost in Bougainville.
Furthermore, they are
willing to allow mining for economic recovery and strengthening of
Bougainville independence. To them innocent Bougainvilleans died for
independence and this challenge must be met.
The gathering also heard
that, before mining resumes, the ABG and whoever is the mining company
should let them know about their future life as a result of mining
operations: issues such as automatic employment and good compensation or
royalties.
Their most pressing demand was to close the door to all non-Bougainvilleans.
Landowners also wanted a
new waste disposal system. They don’t want gravel stockpiled on the
dumps already in existence and they do want environment-friendly
management of waste from the concentrator mills down the Tumpusiong
Valley and in the sea in South Bougainville.
The meeting heard that the
new mining venture must grant all mine sub-contracts for catering, tyre
services and other services to Bougainvilleans and allow no firm
outside Bougainville to tender.
They said Bougainvilleans are innovative people so the miner should come first with education for Bougainvilleans.
The landowners want to see
every village across Bougainville connected by sealed roads; every
river to have permanent bridges; and every island community to have a
jetty. These improvements are what the mining company should think about
before talking about re-opening the mine.
One great breakthrough for
the Panguna people is the conflict between Bougainville Revolutionary
Army leaders, Ishmael Toroama, Chris Uma and Moses Pipiro, which is
scheduled for reconciliation late this month.
This trio with their
followers have long kept the people divided politically and have also
regularly fought each other over their own personal interests, mostly
over the Panguna mine site and money from scrap metal and government
projects.
In line with this, ABG President Dr John Momis will soon be visiting Guava Village for the first time as Bougainville president.
These events certainly indicate that Bougainville is moving and not stagnant.
http://www.businessadvantagepn…s-president-bougainville/
9 Jul 2013 by Business Advantage Leave a Comment
The President of Bougainville, John Momis, wants work on
restarting the giant Panguna gold and copper mine to begin later this
year. In this exclusive interview with Business Advantage PNG, he outlines the steps now needed to restart operations.
[Blockierte Grafik: http://www.businessadvantagepng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/John_Momis_web-300x154.jpg]Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): Why do Bougainvilleans now support re-opening the mine?
John Momis (JM): The Panguna Mine was the primary
source of the war, which reduced Bougainville to basics. We need to deal
with it because the Panguna Mine is a mega project. We need the revenue
to be generated from it—revenue for the government as well as income
for the people. So with the way things are going, we don’t have much
option really.
We don’t have much money coming from the National Government in terms
of its commitment to allocate adequate funding for reconstruction and
for the big job of creating an autonomous government. I think, once the
mine is open, Bougainville will be very well off, and we can manage to
reconstruct Bougainville and promote sustainable businesses.
Zitat‘The former commander of the Bougainville Revolutionary
Army, Sam Kauona, is now on side and in agreement with the need to
re-open the mine.’
With the collaboration of credible partners from outside, the
government itself will have enough money to create a new government. We
also need money to create something that’s sustainable and in accordance
with the principles of good governance and democracy.
BAPNG: Is there much opposition among local landowners and Bougainville people to the re-opening of the mine?
JM: There is a little bit of opposition but with
clarification and with our efforts to create awareness, more and more
people are in support: ex-combatants generally, the landowners
themselves and the population in general. So, there is not much
opposition. There is opposition from some quarters, and that is quite
small, due to a lack of understanding.
The former commander of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, Sam
Kauona, is now on side and in agreement with the need to re-open the
mine. He also agrees with the new mining law, which I expect the
Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) to pass by September this year.
BAPNG: The landowners’ umbrella group is seeking a payment of K10
billion (US$4.45 billion). How critical is that before any real work
gets under way? Does it have to be in cash or could it be in some other
form?
JM: No, it doesn’t have to be [in cash]. As a matter
of fact, I am advocating that we should, without too much delay, start
negotiations with Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) so that they can address
some of the burning issues affecting the landowners whose land and
whose lives have been detrimentally affected. But we can’t do that
unless BCL are given some kind of guarantee that they will be allowed to
operate. So, the sooner we negotiate with them, the better for us.
Zitat‘Well, people say that the lease has expired, but
precedents have been set that say that once leases are expired they must
be renewed to the same company, and that is BCL. So, that’s the
assumption we’re working under.’
The K10 billion [that] people are talking about can be provided in
different forms of development assistance to villagers to rebuild their
villages and sort out some of the problems they’ve had as a result of
the mine.
It’s not a question of paying K10 billion at one go.
BAPNG: Do you see BCL as the only viable company to re-open the mine
itself, or do you see the possibility of another mining company
competing for the rights?
JM: The landowners themselves want BCL. That’s their
declared condition. I don’t necessarily believe BCL is the only one,
but because they legally own the leases, we’ve got to start with them,
and under our own law, BCL will have to meet our conditions. I have also
mentioned to BCL that perhaps there is a place for a third party to be
involved.
BAPNG: What role would they have?
JM: A third party may want to take up shares.
BAPNG: The landowners say that the mining lease for BCL to operate
the mine has expired—Rio Tinto has told us that it’s still working on
the assumption that the lease entitlement is still alive. What’s your
understanding of the status of the original lease?
JM: Well, people say that the lease has expired, but
precedents have been set that say that once leases are expired they
must be renewed to the same company, and that is BCL. So, that’s the
assumption we’re working under.
BAPNG: The landowners’ prerequisites for re-opening the mine
indicate they want to actually own the mining lease and then sublease it
to the mining company. Have we misinterpreted that, and is that viable
anyway?
JM: That is an issue that has to be discussed
between us [the ABG] and the [National] Government and the landowners.
Under our new proposed mining law, the landowners own the resources.
They have total ownership of the resources, but the government has the
custodial role. Only the Government can issue licences, both at the
exploration stage and development stage, and the Government is
responsible for governance of benefits. The Government is [also]
responsible for ensuring that environmental impact studies are conducted
so that you know that there are no detrimental impacts on the
environment and the life of the people. So, the issue of whether the
people themselves will own the lease and negotiate is an issue that has
not been discussed in full.
BAPNG: What do you regard as critical in order to get the mine up and running again?
JM: Law and order and rule of law–that’s number one.
That is why we’ve spent a lot of time holding forums to allow people to
participate in discussions of important issues including law and order,
ownership, distribution of benefits and, of course, environmental
impacts on the land.
Getting all the different factions together—landowners,
ex-combatants, other citizens of Bougainville and the government—is
crucially important. Once we come to a consensus, then people will have a
sense of ownership of the project, and this also extends to whichever
mining company that finally agrees to participate under our conditions.
Zitat‘We have had positive discussions with executives from
BCL, but we now have to sensitise Rio Tinto executives in London about
the way in which we want to proceed.’
We’ve already started the initial discussions with BCL about some of
the issues that must be resolved before they start their construction
work. It has done a study of the order of magnitude that seems to be
very attractive and confirms that currently the mine is a mega project.
BAPNG: BCL estimates it could take five years to rehabilitate the
environment and conditions in order to actually get the mine operating
again. Do you see the length of time as a problem?
JM: For us, we need to start generating revenue as soon as possible.We
have a time line—2015 and onwards is the ideal window. We have to
conduct a referendum to determine our final political status. The
historic moment of designing our future is imminent and we need money to
achieve that. Procrastinating on opening the mine, even five years, is a
bit far. We must come to an agreement to allow BCL to come and set up
their liaison office in Arawa to deal with some of the practical
problems, which are not immense, which are not insurmountable, to enable
BCL to start spending money on reconstruction work, and that will bring
a lot of income to the people and revenue to the ABG, and I think that
is what we need.
People, I think, misunderstand that you must wait for the production phase. Reconstruction is where companies spend a lot of money and that’s what we want. We don’t want to procrastinate on that.
BAPNG: So would you like to see BCL physically return by the end of this year? Can you see it happening?
JM: That’s correct, yes. We will go for that. Of
course, we have to take precautions. We have to do things right, and
hence the lengthy period of consultation we’ve been having. That should
iron out a lot of the problems and help us to come to a consensus to
decide what to do.
We have had positive discussions with executives from BCL, but we now
have to sensitise Rio Tinto executives in London about the way in which
we want to proceed. So far, we have been successful in taking a
consensual approach towards restarting the mine.
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20130710/wehome.htm
By WINTERFORD TOREAS
NEGOTIATIONS towards the reopening of the defunct Panguna mine in Central
Bougainville received another positive boost last week.
This follows the staging of another successful consultative meeting between the
Autonomous Bougainville Government, Bougainville Copper Limited and the Panguna
Mine Affected Landowners Association (PMALA), in Buka last Wednesday.
This one day meeting which was attended by BCL representative Paul Coleman,
PMALA chairman Lawrence Daveona and the ABG representatives saw a total of eight
resolutions reached by the parties to the meeting.
These resolutions cover issues including ‘bel kol’ (peace or apologetic)
compensation demands, illegal settlers, landowners’ relocation, and other issues
deemed to be of importance.
All parties agreed that in order to address the ‘bel kol’ issue, the ABG will be
taking the necessary steps to implement decisions of the government in
developing a program that will involve the stakeholders, including ABG, BCL and
PMALA to reach an agreement on the terms and conditions of the ‘bel kol’ issue
and set a date by September this year.
In relation to outstanding compensation demands, the ABG Mining Department in
consultation with PMALA and BCL will audit and update the existing title holders
of recipients of outstanding compensation by September this year.
It will also identify the options and the methods of payments, resolve
outstanding land rental payments owed by the National Department of Lands to the
Siokatei lease before the end of this year, and establish the status of the
Uruawa/Rorovana land rental agreement with BCL before the end of this year.
In relation to illegal settlers, the ABG Mining Department will be taking the
leading role in developing relevant ABG policy on how this issue needs to be
resolved. It was agreed that the ABG Mining Department will raise this issue at
the next Joint Panguna National Coordination Committee (JPNCC) meeting.
In order to address the landowners’ relocation resettlement issue, the ABG
Mining Department and other relevant agencies will be taking the lead in
developing relevant ABG policy on how this issue needs to be resolved. It was
also agreed that the ABG Mining Department will also be raising this issue at
the next JPNCC meeting.
The parties also agreed that after the addressing of the bel kol issue, BCL will
be working closely with ABG and PMALA to develop proposals for skills training
and human resource development, and also work closely with other key
stakeholders.
They also agreed that in accordance with the community engagement process and
proposals, there was also a need to develop landowner associations to endorse
the proposals, and for the ABG to be informed and so that it can consider
funding support.
Another resolution reached concerned the ABG draft mining policy; with all
parties agreeing
that the ABG will be consulting PMALA and all other key stakeholders.
The final resolution reached was for the ABG, BCL and PMALA to meet on a
bimonthly basis to discuss issues of importance.
Rio Tinto meets with Panguna landowners
by ramunickel
Aloysius Laukai | New Dawn
ABG
President and ABG Minister for Public Service, Joel Banam, Chris
Siriosi (ABG's Legal Officer), Raymond Masoso (Secretary of the Panguna
Negotiation Office), Stephen Burain (CEO for Mining Department), Paul
Coleman and other participants at the meeting. Picture by Aloysius
Laukai
A one day meeting between the Panguna Landowners and the
Secretary of Bougainville Copper Limited, Paul Coleman [PNG Manager for
Rio Tinto] started in Buka this morning and was opened by the ABG
President, John Momis.
The meeting is a follow up of several
meetings between the two groups to discuss outstanding issues that the
two groups needs sort out before the negotiations on the future of the
closed Panguna Mine can proceed between ABG, BCL and the Landowners
themselves.
Today's meeting is being attended by all the nine
Landowner Associations that are now registering with IPA before they
vote for one overall Umbrella association Chairman who will represent
all these associations.
ramunickel | July 3, 2013 at 2:51 pm |
Tags: Bougainville, John Momis, Landholders, Panguna, Papua New Guinea,
Paul Coleman, Rio Tinto |
BCL to buy local in Bougainville mine relaunch,Momis said
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=77268
says Momis
Posted at 03:26 on 03 July, 2013 UTC
The
autonomous government in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville
says it will require a rejuvenated Bougainville Copper Ltd to source
most of its basic supplies from within the province.
There are increasing expectations that the huge mine, which has been shut down for 24 years, will re-open.
A
series of fora have mostly backed the re-opening and the Autonomous
Bougainville Government president John Momis says he hopes they can
begin negotiations with BCL before the end of the year.
He wants the re-construction happening quickly to stimulate job growth and boost the economy.
Mr Momis says they expect this building phase would foster subsidiary industries, including farming.
“Because once the mine starts this time around we are not going to
allow BCL to import everything from outside. They will have to buy our
beautiful fruits, pineapples, fish, chickens - we will have piggery
farms and so on and so forth. But that needs a bit of funding and
technology to get the people to be professionally prepared.”
“”
“The president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, John Momis”
News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand <<< Posting gekürzt anzeigen
"Today's meeting is being attended by all the nine Landowner
Associations that are now registering with IPA before they vote for one
overall Umbrella association Chairman who will represent all these
associations."
Jetzt sind also alle 9 Lo`s Vertretungen
registriert, die Wahl von LD, welcher schon mit überwältigender Mehrheit
der 6 Erstregistrierten Lo`s als Chairman bestätigt wurde sollte als
gesichert gelten.
Auch beim nächste Woche stattfindenden letzten der 4 Informationsmeetings ist nicht mehr mit Störfeuer zu rechnen.
In the event that the Bill is ready beforehand, the President indicated that a Special Sitting of the House could be called.
Nach
der Einigung Momis/Kauona zum Mining Act bestehen gute Chancen dass,
wie von Momis schon angedeutet, eine kurzfristig einberufene ABG
Parlamentssitzung den Mining Act noch in diesem Monat verabschiedet.
Momis wants the re-construction happening quickly to stimulate job growth and boost the economy.
Jetzt wo der Stein endlich ins rollen kommt will man keine Zeit mehr verlieren.
Dass
im heutigen Meeting ABG/BCL schon über die Kantinenbelieferung mit
Regionalprodukten diskutiert wird zeigt dass die Vorgespräche schon viel
weiter fortgeschritten sind als offiziell publiziert wird.Ein solches
Abkommen,einmal unterschrieben,macht aus jedem Bewohner B`villes einen
potentiellen BCL Supplier.;-)))
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20130627/thhome.htm
Talks on mine underway
By ROMULUS MASIU
IT’S an all go for the Panguna Mine re-opening with all stakeholders in Central
Bougainville reaffirming their support for the Autonomous Bougainville
Government.
All stakeholders in the three districts of Central Bougainville – Wakunai,
Panguna and Kieta – spoke out during the two-day 4th Mining Forum on Panguna
Mine Negotiations held in Arawa, saying it’s time to boost the region’s economy
in preparation for the vote for Referendum to Independence 2016.
All opted for the mineral rich mine pit (Panguna) along the Crown Prince Range
to bank roll the region’s independence.
The only stumbling block now is the Me’ekamui government of unity under the
leadership of Philip Miriori who still has reservations and wants the mine to be
opened after Independence is granted for Bougainville.
The Me’ekamui Government of unity represents the other side of the landowners of
Panguna who are opposing the re-opening of the mine on environmental grounds and
more importantly on where they will be relocated to and placed if BCL or any
other mining company re-opens the mine.
Mr Miriori stood firm questioning the forum on where the Government ABG will
relocate them to if they are to open the mine.
“Where will you put me and my people of Panguna if you start operations on our
land again? We have nowhere to go now our land has been spoilt, taken away from
us and you’re still pushing us away by not considering our plight and forcing
the re-opening of the mine,” Mr Miriori had said.
President Chief Dr John Momis sympathised with Mr Miriori and the people of
Panguna, telling the forum that he has been deeply touched by the statement of
Mr Miriori and assured them that ABG as the legitimate government of the day has
this very important obligation to take care of its people.
“Yes, Miriori and the landowners of Panguna have a genuine point, we have to
give them new land, a new place to live as they have given us their land, their
God-given land for all of us to benefit –even PNG benefited from their land
therefore, we’ll accord them a special compensation, that will be stipulated in
the new mining law for Bougainville.”
However, President Momis reminded the people of Bougainville to be realistic
when talking about the issue of Panguna.
“All the things that have happened to us in the past is history now, we’ve
learnt from them and moved forward.
“Your government ABG is taking care of the loopholes in the system – the
colonial laws have been thrown out where there was no consultation at all, now
everything is very different and more importantly we need money to run our
government since National Government of PNG is not honouring its commitment as
stipulated under the Bougainville Peace Agreement.”
However, Bougainville Veterans Associations throughout the island have put up a
firm stand that Panguna Mine must be re-opened so that all Bougainvilleans –
more than 20,000 lives that perished during the Crisis must be compensated.
Former late Francis Ona’s side-kick Glynn Tovirika challenged those who are
negative about the mine re-opening to tell the former combatants who are
responsible for the permanent closure of the mine that where will they get the
money from and how will they pay the compensation for those killed.
Mr Tovirika challenged the Me’ekamui that what will they offer to the people of
Bougainville – to the families of those who died during the crisis – they are
still crying for the family members who have died.
“Whether you like it or not, we will still open the mine. We (ex-combatants) are
the ones who close the mine and we are the ones who will open the mine because
this is the dream and wish of late leader Francis Ona, who told us that the mine
is not permanently closed, but will operate back after we’re ready to gain
independence. That time is now, we are ready,” Mr Tovirika said.
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20130611/news.htm
Landowners reach agreement to re-open giant gold-copper mine
By ROMULUS MASIU
in Arawa
AFTER
24 years, the leaders, landowners and people of Panguna mine in
Bougainville have reached some sort of agreement and are ready to sit
down, talk and negotiate for the re-opening of the defunct giant
copper-gold mine.
Landowner discontent over equitable distribution
and sharing of Panguna mine benefits led to PNG’s first serious
Bougainville Crisis in May 1989 that went on for about 10 years.
It left about 20,000 dead, including men, women and children, as well as PNG soldiers, policemen and correctional officers.
According
to reports from Panguna, the landowners are now ready to kick-start
dialogue and negotiations with all the stakeholders, including the
Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) led by President Fr John Momis,
the PNG Government and BCL for the re-opening of the copper-gold mine.
Its
is yet to be confirmed how widespread this consensus for negotiations
fore the re-opening of the mine is, but it appears that Panguna
landowners are now speaking the same language as pro-ABG veterans and
ex-combatants
of Ishael Toroama and his group.
But one thing is
certain - they want all outstanding issues to be sorted out, including
bel kol or compensation payments, customary obligations for blood shed
and lives lost during the 10 year crisis from May 1989 to August 2011
when the final peace agreement was signed in Arawa when Sir Julius Chan
was Prime Minister.
What is coming out of Panguna is good news for
everybody, especially for Dr Momis and the people of Bougainville who
need money to develop the province as it moves forward to the scheduled
referendum in 2015 when the people will have a say in determining their
political destiny.
It also comes at a time when about 10 Chinese and
US businessmen who are now in Buka for talks with Dr Momis for possible
investment in Bougainville.
The Panguna landowners have elected
Lawrence Daveona as chairman of the Special Mining Lease Association,
one of six associations that make up the Umbrella Panguna Landowners
Association. Mr Daveona automatically becomes chairman of the umbrella
association.
The umbrella association has not been registered and Mr Daveona has undertaken to do have it registered as a matter of priority.
The
full executive of the umbrella association is chairman Mr Daveona,
deputy chairman Richard Avero, treasurer Tony Tapakau and secretary
Dennis Nasia.
The association executive met yesterday (Monday) and
resolved that they will be the sole representative of their people in
any talks with ABG, the national government, BCL and any other
interested investor.
Chairman Daveona, who comes from the same
village of Guava as late Francis Ona who instigated the 10 year crisis,
thanked the landowners for electing him chairman and told them he will
make the re-opening of the mine his priority.
“I will fight for what
is best for the landowners and for all the people of North, Central and
South Bougainville, especially those who died and suffered during the
Bougainville Crisis,” he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/201…-bouganville-mine/4713858
Jemima Garrett for Pacific Beat
Updated
6 hours 16 minutes ago
Hundreds of landowners from around the Rio Tinto mine
site in Papua New Guinea's island of Bougainville are expected to meet
Monday, for the first formal consultation on re-opening the mine since
the civil war ended 12 years ago.
This week's mining forum in the
town of Arawa comes after three years of lead-up talks and is part of a
series of forums across the island.
The Autonomous Bougainville
Government (ABG) has held three previous mining forums, but this is the
first time landowners from the mine area have been formally consulted.
Deputy
chairperson of the Panguna and Affected Resource Owners Association,
Theresia Jaintong, says many in the community will be attending.
"All
the landowners and all the Council of Elders, the chiefs, the women,
the churches, the disabled, the youths, everybody will be there," she
said.
"It is the way forward for the Panguna mine to be re-opened and also the people must speak.
"We
will encourage them to speak positively about what they think, and with
a lot of common sense, looking into the future for the younger
generation."
Local impacts
The Panguna copper mine was opened under a colonial era agreement, with little regard for local residents.
Bougainvilleans are still suffering from the impact of the mine and its closure during the civil war.
This time as they consider re-opening the mine, locals are making sure they are involved in the decision process.
AGB mining minister, Michael Oni, told Radio Australia he has high expectations for the consultation meeting.
"I am expecting that proper consultation must occur," he said.
Mr Oni says he hopes the discussions will result in benefits for the Bouganvillean people, government and infrastructure.
"Also there should be some kind of...future generation fund to be allocated to support the people, especially children."
Ms Jaintong says many people are still misplaced from their villages after the war.
"Part
of our land we are just occupying in the meantime before this process
taking place so we can be re-integrated back into the village some way
or the other," she said.
The Panguna mine was the PNG government's
major source of revenue when the country became independent in 1975 but
landowners were unhappy with the way benefits were shared.
This
anger eventually developed into a decade-long civil war which brought
Bougainville to its knees and left more than 10,000 people dead.
Topics:
mining-industry,
bougainville,
papua-new-guinea,
pacific
.......werden die Miningbranche u. die Börsenpublikationen bemerken dass es Ernst wird mit der Wiedereröffnung der Pangunamine.
Jetzt zu 40-45 ct. will fast keiner zugreifen,über 1 € wachen die Ersten auf,ab 2-3 € wollen dann Alle dabeisein. ;-))))
Präsident Momis geht davon aus dass die BCA Review "By end of the year" gestartet sein wird.Vorbereitungstreffen wurden schon abgehalten,JSB Meetingskonsultationen finden statt u. nächste Woche soll sich Momis mit Kauona (Meekamui- u. Morumbi) treffen zwecks eines Kompromisses zur Verabschiedung der Mining-Policy.
Kommt es dabei zu einem Arrangement,dann gäbe es beim für Juni geplanten JSB Treffen für PNG keinen Grund mehr die Miningpower nicht zu übertragen.
In der dann folgenden 6 monatigen Vorbereitungszeit zur BCA Review dürfte BOC ihre Büros in Arawa beziehen u. Experten zur Mine entsenden denn ohne genaue Kenntnisse der aktuellen Situation Vorort dürften sie kaum mit den Verhandlungen beginnen.Im nächsten Schritt sollten dann die von Peter Taylor schon angekündigten Explorationen folgen, um die Mineralisierungen zum bloc cave mining zu definieren.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.…lly-selfreliantmd/1128520
The Rio Tinto-owned copper mine on Papua New Guinea's island of
Bougainville has the potential to make Bougainville economically
self-reliant, according to the Managing Director of the Rio subsidiary
which plans to redevelop it.
Rio-Tinto mine would make Bougainville economically self-reliant:MD (Credit: ABC)
The
issue of self-reliance is crucial as Bougainville is due to hold a
referendum on independence from PNG between 2015 and 2020, but can only
become an independent nation if it has the financial resources to
survive on its own.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett
Speaker: Peter Taylor, Chairman and Managing director of Rio Tinto, subsidiary Bougainville Copper
TAYLOR:
As far as Bougainville is concerned it would make an enormous
difference because from what I have seen they only generate internally,
about 5% of their budget at the moment. This has the potential to
substantially meet the budget requirements of Bougainville. In the
scheme of things for Papua New Guinea it is important there is no doubt
about it. It will be in terms of copper and gold production, well
certainly in terms of copper it will be the biggest mine in PNG. In
terms of gold production it will be second only to Lihir I imagine.
There may be mines in the future producing more gold and copper but at
this stage it would sit as number two or perhaps even number one in
terms of value to PNG
GARRETT:
Rio has had its fingers burnt in Mongolia and it is divesting itself of
a number of assets. Does it have the appetite for a risky project of
this sort?
TAYLOR: Well, I am the Chief Executive of Bougainville
Copper and Rio Tinto is but one shareholder, mind you an important
shareholder having 54 per cent of the equity in the company. Rio Tinto
has so far indicated its interest in continuing as the major
shareholder. It supports Bougainville Copper's vision which is to
re-open the mine but it has one very important caveat, which
Bougainville Copper shares I might add which is that it needs the
support of the Bougainville government, the national government, the
landowners and the people of Bougainville generally. It has said it will
not support re-opening the mine without all of those parties being on
board.
GARRETT: So how is progress going in terms of the support of the landowners?
TAYLOR:The
situation for the re-opening of the mine continues to improve. It is a
slow process but we expect that. My attitude has been and continues to
be I would rather take my time and get it right, than rush and get it
wrong. I think what is happening on Bougainville is in line with my
expectations. The support for the mine re-opening continues to grow and
the support for Bougainville Copper as the operator continues to grow.
GARRETT:
There is still opposition in Bougainville and it is quite loud and
strident opposition - what makes you think you can get over that and
that there won't be a situation which unravels into bloodshed again?
TAYLOR:Well,
I have never been involved in any resource project that hasn't had
somebody who doesn't like it. I mean that is just life. It doesn't
matter what it is you want to build, even if it is a road. You will get
somebody who doesn't want it to be there because it is near their place
or whatever. But look, I know there is some opposition and I think that
is healthy. I would be a bit concerned if everybody was all of a sudden
in favour. I would say what has changed to make that happen. We have to
manage that. We have to be inclusive in terms of the parties that we
deal with and I think that once the benefits, as opposed to what some of
the protesters might think are the negatives, are explained and that is
balanced out for the welfare of Bougainville and its people generally, I
think most people will come on board.
GARRETT: You were on
Bougainville before the mine closed. What have you learnt personally
about from what the people of Bougainville have gone through since that
time?
TAYLOR:You are right, I lived on Bougainville working in
the mine in the mid-80s and to me it was one of the best experiences I
have ever had in my career in the mining industry. I made many friends. I
have still got many of those Bougainville friends. It was a tragedy of
course for Bougainville and its people and I think and what is really
tragic about it is I think it was preventable. In many respects it took
so many small individual events to co-incide for the situation to
develop the way it did. That is the real tragedy of it, it was a
preventable event.
GARRETT: What is Bougainville Copper going to do to make amends for the past?
TAYLOR:
I think it is really a question of looking at what it was about the way
the mine opened in the first place and how we avoid the things that
were done then that led to this discontent and the major one I think is
actually including the local people in the planning, in having equity in
the project itself, having a more equitable share of the revenue from
the mine and being direct recipients of the infrastructure, for example
educational opportunities, health opportunities and so on, that the mine
can produce.
GARRETT: So how will you go about doing it differently, this time?
TAYLOR:
What I have said to the Bougainville government and the landowners is I
want them to set the agenda. I want them to tell me what it is that
they want. So they will bring their agenda to the negotiating table and
obviously we may have to compromise. I mean the mine itself its not
going to be so profitable that it will support every wish of every party
that will come to the table and indeed the investors expect a return on
their money as well. But the different approach is going to be ..it
won't be driven as it was in the first place by an Administration from
Australia. It will be from day one negotiations between the people on
the ground, the landowners in the mine site, the government of
Bougainville and the other population of Bougainville.
GARRETT:
Bougainville has a referendum on independence coming up between 2015 and
2020. What issues does that raise for Bougainville Copper?
TAYLOR:
It is a very important issue for Bougainville Copper and, of course, it
is a very important issue for both Bougainville and PNG generally. For
us, we need certainty in terms of what the government is that you are
dealing with, what their legislation is, what the mining regime is, what
the tax regime is and quite clearly if Bougainville was independent it
would present a different situation in terms of raising finance
internationally than if it was part of Papua New Guinea because Papua
New Guinea has a long and successful record as a mining destination and
the mines here have worked very well but the international community,
finance community, won't know because there is no experience with
Bougainville as an independent country.
GARRETT: Under the
Bougainville Peace Agreement the PNG government must satisfy itself that
Bougainville can economically sustain itself before it agrees to
independence. Does that give Bougainville Copper the whip hand in
negotiations?
TAYLOR: I don't think it does. I mean we as a
commercial enterprise won't be getting involved in politics. What we are
looking at is the viability of the mine. We are looking at the consents
that we need from the parties who we want to get the consents. The
whole question of what economic viability is for the purposes of that
agreement is really a matter for both governments.
By Aloysius Laukai
The long awaited Draft Bougainville Mining act 2013 was announced at this morning’s ABG session of parliament.
The ABG President in making the announcement said this first draft will
be widely circulated to all corners of Bougainville for public
discussion.
He said that a key reason is that our Bougainville constitution calls on
the ABG to make sure to have widespread consultations before it makes
major new laws.
President Momis said that for almost 50 years since CRA exploration for
Copper and Gold began in the mountains of Central Bougainville,
Bougainvilleans have had to respond to the wishes of outsiders in what
are after all our minerals.
In the 1960s, neither the Australian Colonial regime nor Conzinc Rio
Tinto Australia(CRA) had any interest in our views, or our concerns,
about mining.
We were ol Bus Kanaka tasol. The mine was imposed for the good of
Australia(because it would reduce the need for Australian funding of the
PNG Budget and for the benefit of CRA.
President Momis said that he believes that its is not really Panguna
mine that caused the many problems and the conflict Bougainville has
experienced since the 1960.
He said that the real problem was the fact we Bougainvilleans were ignored.
We had no role in decision making and without our consent, the bad impacts of the mine fell on us” said President Momis.
Ends
Das wollen die Bouggys jetzt auch für sich u. mit Unterstützung von AU u. NZ wird ihnen das auch gelingen.Da schlachtet man die Kuh nicht die die Milch geben soll. ;-)))
http://www.buysellsignals.net/bcllandowners/Newsletter.do
PNGs 19% Anteil an BCL wurden von AU finanziert,u wird spätestens zur Independance an Boug übertragen sein.
Die Story wird also immer spannender.
MOMIS:
Number one, talk about shares, monetary shares we don't know, as yet we
have not decided whether we will, the ABG will hold equity in any
mining deal. What we do know now is that the ABG, in the name of the
rest of the people of Bougainville, is a joint partner in the ownership
of resources. Now we may not want to buy shares but if we do, of course,
we buy shares and own them on behalf of the rest of the population.
GARRETT:
At the moment the PNG government owns a 19 per cent stake in the Rio
Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper, which is the owner of the Panguna
mine. You have said in the past that you want that stake transferred to
the Bougainville government. How are negotiations going?
MOMIS: We
will start negotiating soon. In my view we should, the ABG should start
negotiating with the PNG government towards the latter half of this
year and with Bougainville Copper round about the same time. In my view
the 19 point 6 or 7 per cent that the PNG government owns, should really
be transferred to us because Bougainville made a huge contribution to
the national economy and got very little in return.
GARRETT: Will the PNG government handover the whole 19 per cent or will it want to keep a stake for itself?
MOMIS:
Well, they may want to keep some percentage for themselves but it is
only fair that the province that contributed the lion's share of the
revenue that enabled Papua New Guinea to become independent, and
convinced the Australian government that independence for Papua New
Guinea is viable, was Bougainville and we got very little in return. I
was involved in both constitution-making and fighting for the rights of
the landowners in Bougainville all these years. In 1972 when I got
elected I moved a motion in parliament calling for a radical change in
the mining policy and that mining policy should be used as a backdrop
that the Bougainville Copper agreement should be re-negotiated to
achieve a more equitable deal.
GARRETT: I understand you have a
policy of a limit on the number of mines on Bougainville. What is that
limit and why that policy?
MOMIS: Bougainville is a small place,
Bougainville is mineral rich and it is very easy to ignore environmental
impact detrimental effect on society so we believe one big mine is
sufficient and if pressed we may allow for one more mine, no more. We
know there are possibilities but we are making sure that we first of all
make proper use of the revenue generated by the Panguna mine and have
it equitably distributed. We want to make sure that the current
generation, as well as the future generation, are looked after and that
we have our own people educated and skilled to handle the problems that
the mining process will bring on Bougainville. If we don't then we'll be
swamped. Papua New Guinea is different, Papua New Guinea is a bigger
place, a bigger population, we are only talking about 300-thousand
people and I think one mine is sufficient. We want revenue of course to
promote autonomy and fiscal self-reliance and help the people of
Bougainville prepare for the referendum on independence and maintain
unity at the same time. We don't want to cause all kinds of problems
that might be beyond our capacity to handle and manage in an intelligent
and sustainable way.
GARRETT: Before the Rio Tinto mine can be
re-opened the Bougainville Copper agreement needs to be renegotiated and
for that landowner groups need to come together and speak with a united
voice. How are those landowner negotiations progressing and when do you
think they will be ready to begin those negotiations?
MOMIS: We
have nine landowner organisations and we have come a long way as far as
organising the landowner associations goes. All registered apart from
one of two and expect that should be done fairly soon. The nine
landowners have also agreed to an umbrella organisation to speak for
them and participate in the negotiations. We are enabling the landowners
to actually be the stakeholders that will participate with the
government in the negotiations for the re-opening of Panguna mine.
GARRETT: Just how much opposition is there to the re-opening of the mine?
MOMIS:
The bulk of the population want the re-opening of the mine. When people
talk about the 10 billion that BCL and the national government must pay
the landowners and the ex-combatants for the damage done, they must
realise that without opening the Panguna mine, where will the company
get the money to pay the ten billion. If the mine is operating then
there's a real possibility of negotiating an agreeable amount as
compensation. So it doesn't make sense for people who say let's not open
the mine now. Let's leave it closed until after independence. How will
we become independent, how will we achieve-fiscal self-reliance, how
will we achieve fullest autonomy, how will we achieve rule of law and
development, infrastructure development and so on and so forth. So I
think it is only logical that the mine must be opened but on equitable
terms, the developer must benefit of course, the government and the
people. And also might I say here that is time, this is a golden
opportunity for Australia and Rio Tinto who were to be blamed for a lot
of the mess-up at Panguna and we the people of Bougainville, especially
the ex-combatants, where we ourselves can come up with a new deal to
stop the suffering of the people now. We cannot go on procrastinating
and expect the people to survive under difficult conditions.
GARRETT: There is still some opposition to re-opening the mine. Where is it coming from and could it derail this whole process?
MOMIS:
It is coming from a small group of Mekamui supporters, it's quite a
small group. We respect them. There are ways of engaging them. They want
recognition. They are important. They are part of the landowners but
the bulk of the landowners have agreed but that does not mean we should
adopt an exclusivist approach. We must be all-inclusive and under my
watch, I believe in collaboration, consultative, consensual form of
decision-making. We want to include them in decision-making and even
discussing the possibilities of recognising their group. You know the
second level of government in Bougainville doesn't have to be uniform.
There are ways of recognising them by bringing them into the fold.
GARRETT: President John Momis, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with Radio Australia.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.…islation-and-more/1099044
The legislation is the first in the world to see landowers
share sub-surface mineral rights with their government and the
legislation also allows them to veto exploration.
Bougainville President John Momis explains in this in-depth interview.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett
Speaker: John Momis, President of the Autonomous Government of Bougainville.
MOMIS:
The underlying philosophy for our new Mining Act is empowering people,
giving people the power to make political decisions about development
not just being mere passive recipients of benefits. That is a very
important underlying philosophy that motivates us to move on the new
mining act. A lot of people just see development as providing services
and giving people benefits of development but not actually involving
them as major stakeholders in the process of decision-making and the
process of governance. Therein lies the difference between our mining
act and the Papua New Guinea government Mining Act.
GARRETT: This sharing of mineral rights between the government and landowners is a world first. Will it actually work?
MOMIS:
Well, we believe so. In our cultural context, resources, land, sea,
minerals belong to the people, in fact that disagreement with the
colonial law and the Australian government and Rio Tinto at the very
beginning of the inception of the talks to develop Panguna mine, later
on led to the crisis. You know the Australian government and Rio Tinto
in their zeal to generate revenue completely ignored the peoples' way of
doing things so we want to get to the root cause of the problem and
address the root cause by empowering people. So the ownership of the
resources by the customary landowners is by tradition belong to the
people and we are recommending in our new proposed bill that the ABG
which represents the rest of the population in Bougainville, because of
the bloodshed during the crisis in the rest of Bougainville in defence
of customary rights, must also be a joint owner in the resources.
GARRETT:
What will this legislation mean for Rio Tinto's existing Panguna mine
on Bougainville, a mine it is hoping to re-open? Does Rio Tinto need to
be worried?
MOMIS: I don't think so. What we are saying is that
the resource no longer belongs to the state it belongs to the people and
to their own government, that is the ABG. Rio Tinto will have to deal
with us. We are the only legitimate authority with respect to mining in
Bougainville.
GARRETT: How will the new legislation work on Rio
Tinto's Panguna mine if there is a small minority of landowners who do
not agree that the project should go ahead?
MOMIS: Yes, our
proposed bill gives the landowners the right to veto, veto any
exploration which they so believe that the developer and the government
are not doing the right thing. They also have the right to object once a
development process begins after exploration should the developer and
the government decide to go ahead with development. And the landowners
also have the right to object and that puts a stop to the process and
then we have to sit down and work out why other landowners say 'no'
instead of what the Australian government did before, it just didn't
want to listen. Had they listened the Panguna mine would not have blown
up in their face. So we are looking at the fact that the landowners, the
resource owners must be major stakeholders in the decision-making. They
must be given power. They are not just side, onlookers. So that doesn't
mean that the ABG, the government of the people of Bougainville, of
course, has the ultimate authority, to issue licences and so on and so
forth but it cannot do it in isolation of people's involvement in the
process, in isolation of people's concerns and grievances. It must
address them. There must be legitimate, meaningful consultation and not
post facto consultation.
GARRETT: So as the legislation stands,
landowners have a veto on exploration but not on mining itself. If there
is a problem there is this discussion process. Is that correct?
MOMIS:
They have the right to object which means the process cannot go ahead
unless and until their grievances are addressed in the Bougainville
mining development forum by the developer, their government, that is the
ABG, and the affected landowners.
GARRETT: Some of the
ex-combatants who are landowners from the Panguna mine are involved with
companies that are mining the old tailings from the Rio Tinto site. To
what extent is that driving opposition to Rio Tinto re-opening its
operations on Bougainville?
MOMIS: Some of these ex-combatants,
which are doing a bit of mining, which is illegal, will have to abide by
the new mining law hence the importance and the urgency of the new
mining law coming into existence. We could wait until all the 't's are
crossed and the 'i's are dotted. Now we are saying let's cross the
bridges as we come to them. Hence the urgency the importance to have a
mining law now in order to enable the ABG to take control of the
situation and citizens of Bougainville must abide by the laws of their
own government.
GARRETT: There are also a number of small mining
companies such as the Canadian company Murumbi, that are going around
telling landowners that they - the landowners have an exclusive say and
they are signing up exclusive exploration deals. Is that a problem as
far as you are concerned?
MOMIS: They are a big problem. Again
that is another reason why we have to have our own mining law, mining
regime, put in place quickly so we can take control of the situation.
ABG is the legitimate government. As you know we are in a post crisis
situation, and like all post-war situations law and order is a problem.
Our law enforcement agencies are not effective, people think they can do
whatever they want to do and that is not right. The government, the ABG
is committed to democracy, we are committed to the rule of law, we are
committed to sustainable development and democratisation. That is why we
have got to have laws that are fair and just and will protect the
interests of the landowners as well as the interest of the common good,
that is the interests of the rest of Bougainville. And people like
Murumbi, whilst we recognise the right of customary landowners over
their resources we are also saying only the government, that is the ABG,
has the exclusive right to issue licences and control such things as
who gets the benefits. There must be equitable distribution. We must not
disadvantage those who are affected by the detrimental impacts of the
mine like adjoining groups of people who are not in the mining area but
who are detrimentally affected by the development and that is why we
cannot allow and we must not allow anybody to act outside of the
jurisdiction of the government and the law.
GARRETT: So what is your message to the companies that are going around and signing these sorts of deals with landowners?
MOMIS:
My message is that they must forthwith stop. That what they are doing
is illegal. There is a moratorium imposed in Bougainville and at the
moment without our law being enforced the national government is the
only legitimate authority to breach the moratorium. Once our law comes
into force then the ABG will then be the legitimate authority to lift
the moratorium. Without lifting the moratorium, anybody doing
exploration, or who thinks he's doing exploration, and intends to do
mining is acting illegally and acting against the best interests of the
people of Bougainville.
GARRETT: The Autonomous Government of
Bougainville's share in any mining venture will be held on behalf of the
people of Bougainville, and that is a result of the bloodshed and
recognises custom ways of doing things. How will that work exactly?
Both he and Jack are now licking their lips. In fact, next week, Ed is
putting out an alert on an PNG gold,silver,copper stock currently sold
down to under $0.60 that he thinks is almost a sure-thing to go well above $ 2,70 and likely be a ten-bagger in the next year.
It
takes a lot of courage to pound the table when a sector is so out of
favor. But, it is made easier when you understand most of the market
fundamentals that almost are sure to lead to a major resurgence in this sector.
If you’ve been waiting to get into this market, now is the time.
http://www.bougainvillecopper.com.pg/
Bougainville Copper Agreement
Several new developments have occurred which should
help facilitate the re-negotiation of the Bougainville
Copper Agreement (BCA), which is a necessary precursor
of any future investment decisions.
The Bougainville Copper Agreement is an act of the PNG
National Parliament, and as such can only be modified or
repealed by the Parliament.
It is recognised by all stakeholders, including Bougainville
Copper, that the Agreement was drawn up in times and
circumstances that differ from those prevailing today and
that changes need to be made to accommodate the
views, rights and aspirations of all stakeholders including
the landowners and the people of Bougainville.
There is widespread agreement today that Bougainville’s
economic future needs mining if it is to be able to fund
services for the people from its own resources, as well as
address future questions of increased autonomy.
A re-commencement of mining at Panguna cannot take
place unless all parties – the landowners, the
Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG),
ex-combatants, the National Government of PNG and
Bougainville Copper – are acting in close accord, now
and into the future. During the last year there have been
increasing signs of alignment between the key
stakeholders which is encouraging.
Funding and sovereign risk assurance for the project will
require a united effort. There will need to be a fair and
stable mining regime that gives investors the confidence
needed to commit to a project that is expected to cost in
excess of US$5 billion.
It is pleasing to note that landowners in the six areas
most closely affected by the mine’s operations, including
Panguna, the tailings areas, Arawa and the road and port
leases, have all but completed the formation of legallybased
associations capable of providing genuine
representation to the process of reviewing the
Bougainville Copper Agreement. The process of
incorporation, which involves both legal and customary
commitments, is most welcome, and should bring us
closer to the capacity required to review the BCA to the
benefit of all stakeholders. It is a process conducted by
the landowners themselves with the support of the
Autonomous Bougainville Government and President
Momis, and without the participation of Bougainville
Copper.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has confirmed in the
Parliament that Bougainville Copper has, by right of the
BCA, permits to operate at Panguna for a further 21
years from 2011. There are also encouraging indications
that funding for Bougainville and the drawing down of
powers to the ABG, including the power to license and
regulate mining, will be invigorated under his
government.
The Joint Supervisory Board (JSB) which steers the peace
and drawdown processes, met during the period for the
first time in eighteen months, and a large transfer of
funds was made by the National Government to the
Autonomous Bougainville Government.
Bougainville
There are many positive developments to report from the
Autonomous Bougainville Region during the year in
review.
The relationship between President John Momis, his
government, and the board and management of
Bougainville Copper continues to be excellent, with
parties working closely to facilitate the possible
re-development of the Panguna mine. Company
representatives regularly meet and communicate with
President Momis and government representatives, with
the company being encouraged to work towards
establishing an office in Arawa on Bougainville and to
make regular visits. President Momis has re-affirmed his
support for the reopening of the mine, and the
momentum which has produced landowner elections
and an increased focus on the re-start agenda is in
considerable part due to the efforts of the President and
members of his cabinet. The issues of gun control and
law and order are similarly the subject of concerted effort
by members of the Autonomous Bougainville
Government.
The World Bank initiative aimed at helping Bougainville
develop its mining sector continues to be productive,
directed towards increasing community benefits from all
forms of mining, increasing the technical capacity to
regulate mining activity and thereby help facilitate the
transfer of mining powers to Bougainville. This will be an
important step because regulatory certainty is needed
before a decision to mine can be made. Ideally the
Bougainville mining regime will not be dissimilar to the
current Papua New Guinea (PNG) system so that a
smooth transition from the old regime to the new should
be possible. It is noted that the ABG Department of
Mining is recruiting new technical staff.
The combined landowner groupings at Panguna continue
to co-operate through the Panguna Management and
Consultative Committee and the landowner umbrella
company. One of the key achievements was the
engagement of representatives of all mine affected areas
in a productive meeting with senior Bougainville Copper
management at Buka. This is a major step forward for all
parties who continue to work on an agenda of issues to
bring to the table when negotiations for future
operations begin.
There was a very successful visit by a delegation of
National Government and ABG political and
administration representatives to Rio Tinto’s Northparkes
copper operation in Australia, with very positive feedback
received from the members of the delegation as to the
high levels of goodwill and close collaboration that were
witnessed between the mine and neighbouring
communities. More visits are planned.
The Australian Government remains supportive of
Bougainville, including the provision of senior advisors to
President Momis and the ABG. The Australia PNG
Business Council, of which I am president, is active in
maintaining a good relationship between Australia and
the people of Bougainville
Increasingly Bougainville is seen as an attractive resource
development province.
The Year Ahead
In addition to the rolling plan that currently guides the
operation of the company, the board has initiated new
planning exercises that give as much certainty as possible
to decision-making, on the path to a resumption of
mining.
An updated Order of Magnitude Study has been
completed.
This is a major study receiving inputs from a large
number of experienced and qualified people aimed at
providing the board with an understanding of the range
of viable technical and commercial development path
options that can be taken to a feasibility study.
Contributors to this exercise include people with
expertise in geology, business planning, environment,
tailings management, JORC compliance and other skills
and capacities drawn from within Rio Tinto’s expertise.
Members of the board have participated, as well as key
project evaluation people from the Rio Tinto copper
group.
The results of this study indicate that it may be
economically viable to redevelop the Panguna mine
under current assumptions. The company is reviewing the
study and will report in further detail at the Annual
General Meeting in April.
As a result of the study and the JORC compliance
process, there has been a significant increase in the
Panguna resource. A statement of the updated mineral
resource was released on 7 February 2013 and can be
viewed on the company website –
www.bougainvillecopper.com.pg
When circumstances permit, it is our intention to
establish a representative office at Arawa. Once this
occurs, the company and the ABG and landowners
propose to jointly commission four new studies in 2013 –
social and economic baseline studies, social mapping,
social economic and cultural assessment and an
environmental baseline and impact assessment.
Also planned for this year is a flow of information to all
key stakeholders to keep them informed of the
company’s intentions and planned activities. Access to
mine properties and operational sites is necessary to
conduct remediation and safety surveys, which are also
planned.
Another joint initiative between the ABG and
Bougainville Copper is the establishment of a satellite
radio network to facilitate efficient radio transmission to
the majority of Bougainville. Both commercial and
government radio stations will have access to this system.
An enhanced media and communications strategy is
being developed.
The company was a major sponsor of the Bougainville
team to the PNG Games held in Kokopo in 2012. This
allowed Bougainville to send a large, well equipped team
which was one of the most successful participants in the
games.
Further studies, including pre-feasibility and bankable
feasibility, will be necessary before any decision on
redevelopment of the Panguna mine can be made. It is
not intended to undertake further studies until
consultations with governments, landowners and other
stakeholders result in broad support for redevelopment.
It is anticipated that a joint committee of representatives
from the National Government, the ABG, landowners
and Bougainville Copper will be established this year to
facilitate the renegotiation of the BCA.
Rio Tinto is recognised by the National Government as a
continuing and committed investor in PNG’s mineral
development future.
Bougainville Copper is among those projects that Rio
Tinto has on active watch, and Rio Tinto continues to
assist the company with world class technical expertise
and management.
Mr Jean-Sebastien Jacques, Rio Tinto’s president of
international copper operations, joined the Bougainville
Copper board in 2012. The appointment underlines the
commitment of the company’s largest shareholder to
Bougainville Copper.
The company faces the coming year with enthusiasm for
the tasks ahead, and anticipates good progress toward
the vision of reopening the mine.
Peter R Taylor
Dear Members
We are very happy to see that a very large number of
you are holding onto BOC and buying more. Those of you who understand
the market and how it works clearly understand why holding on to BOC can
put a lot more money in your account, as it already has since our
initial alert at 30 cents. Everyone who has been holding BOC since our
initial alert has made big bucks, and those continuing to hold steadily
could benefit from another +1,000% in potential profits
Analysts
still think BOC could hit $10 and reports out there are calling
Bougainville the best copper play for 2013. We believe that once BOC
cross over $1, the company could start attracting institutional
investors who can buy stocks above $1. If that happens we could
potentially see BOC soar to new all time highs again!
Shares are
getting scooped up every day as investors see the potential upside of
the Panguna property. Just a few days ago the company revealed to the
public that their property in Bougainville worth over $75 billion dollar
!
If BCL can achieve a New Bougainville Copper Agreement, shares
in BOC could skyrocket to $10-20 as analysts believe and members could
stand to potentially profit over 5000% in gains.
Morgan
Stanley and Goldman Sachs are huge backers of commodities right now
which should be a strong indicator of huge things to come for companies
like BOC
We are expecting a GIGANTIC month on BOC and
today is when it should break $1 and start heading much higher. If you
did not BUY BOC yet now could be the perfect time to invest in it.
