The Panguna Mine in Bougainville, once a source of nearly 44% of PNG’s revenue, has been closed for twenty-five years. The mine was closed by local Indigenous people frustrated by environmental devastation to their land, immense disruption to the socio-political economies tied to customary lands where traditional practices were intrinsic to daily life. Closure of the Bougainville Copper Limited mine (subsidiary of Rio Tinto) was the first time Indigenous people successfully halted international mining interests in a local community. Rio has proposed re-opening the mine. With the Panguna Region closed to outsiders, perspectives of local communities who will be most be affected by the mine’s reopening have not been part of the debate. Voices of people from the Panguna communities are presented in Jubilee Australia’s ‘Voices of Bougainville’ Report which will be launched at this seminar.

For more information, please contact Chris Holley activism@amnesty.org.au