26-06-2025
PNG hands over mine ownership to Bougainville
Papua New Guinea's government has transferred its majority shareholding in Bougainville Copper Limited to the government of Bougainville.
The transfer includes ownership of Panguna Mine, the massive gold and copper mine that was at the centre of a decade-long civil war.
Despite lying dilapidated for the past three decades, deposits beneath the mine are valued at $60 billion.
Under the transfer, 53 million dollars worth of shares go to Bougainville to give the government a 73 per cent holding, with the remaining shares in the hands of investors.
Gordon Peake, a former advisor to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and author of Unsung Land, Aspiring Nation, said it's questionable if the handover showed Papua New Guinea's commitment to Bougainville's independence path.
