Panguna mine attack puts Bougainville's redevelopment focus under fresh pressure

Bougainville's push to reopen the Panguna copper and gold mine has come under fresh pressure after heavy machinery was destroyed in an arson attack last weekend.

The attack comes as the region's leadership moves quickly to reassure investors that the redevelopment will continue.

Local media reported personnel were also assaulted when armed men reportedly entered the B20 site in Panguna early on Sunday and set fire to equipment belonging to Lloyds Panguna Metals & Energy Ltd and its contractor, Thrivenny Earthmovers and Infra Ltd.

The attack has exposed the tensions surrounding a project that Bougainville sees as central to its economic future and its push for independence from Papua New Guinea.

Autonomous Bougainville Government President Ishmael Toroama has condemned the violence and says the government will not be intimidated from pursuing the mine's redevelopment.

“I strongly condemn the actions of those who assaulted personnel and destroyed equipment at the Lloyds Metals camp in Panguna this morning,” Toroama said in a statement.

The Panguna copper and gold mine in Bougainville, which has been at the centre of plans to revive mining in the region. Photo/RNZ Pacific/Johnny Blades

He described those behind the attack as “selfish” and “greedy”, saying their actions did not represent the interests of Bougainville.

Toroama has also sought to reassure foreign investors and development partners that personnel, operations and assets will be protected and that feasibility work will continue.

The response from customary landowners has been equally significant. The Panguna Landowners Interim Council, representing the five customary clans that host the redevelopment site, has apologised to Lloyds Metals over the destruction and made clear it did not support the violence.

Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has condemned the attack on the Panguna mine site. Photo/Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG)

Council chairman Samson Kaissy said the clans strongly condemned the arson and distanced themselves from those responsible.

The council has also reaffirmed its support for redevelopment through legal, environmental and customary processes.

That distinction matters because opposition to the way Panguna is being redeveloped has been building for months.

Some landowners have previously challenged the presence of mining companies at the site, saying they had not given permission for some feasibility work and had not been properly consulted.

The Panguna mine has been closed since 1989 after environmental and land rights protests helped trigger the Bougainville conflict.

For many Bougainvilleans, reopening the mine is therefore about far more than copper and gold. It is tied to economic independence while the environmental damage and unresolved grievances from the original mine remain deeply sensitive.

Human rights advocate Theonila Roka Matbob, who grew up near Panguna and has led calls for Rio Tinto to address the mine's legacy, has warned that redevelopment must not repeat the failures of the past.

She has raised concerns about the lack of a clear waste management plan and the need for stronger safeguards for customary landowners.

The project is also facing scrutiny over how Lloyds Metals was selected as Bougainville's preferred development partner with an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project raising allegations around the deal. Toroama has denied wrongdoing.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has urged calm, warning Bougainville against returning to the violence of its past and calling on those with grievances to use the region's established processes.

The stakes are high. Panguna is estimated to hold about 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold while Bougainville is seeking to build the revenue base it needs for greater self-reliance and its independence ambitions.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has called for calm and restraint following the violence at Panguna. Photo/US Department of State/file

For now, Bougainville's government says the feasibility work will continue.

But the attack is a reminder that reopening Panguna is not simply a mining project. It is a test of whether Bougainville can build its economic future while addressing the land, environmental and human rights issues left by the mine's past.