Landowners of the decommissioned Panguna Copper Mine are now prepared to reopen the mine as soon as the next Bougainville House of Representatives is installed.
Seeing that as the only means of generating income for Bougainville as soon as it gains independence status, the landowners have agreed that Panguna will finance Bougainville like it financed Papua New Guinea back in the 1970s and 80s.
Special Mining Lease Osikayang Landowners Association (SML-OLA) mobilised all landowners from different parts of Panguna to gather at the edge of the mine pit to show that they were now one and ready to re-open the mine when Bougainville gained its independence.
SMLOLA chairman Philip Miriori and chief consultant adviser to the association Lawrence Daveona told the Post-Courier in Arawa that the landowners were now one and that there was no differences among them anymore.
“We are now united as one and we, re ready to re open this mine to finance the Independence of Bougainville, culturally and symbolically over to the government the new government that will be in place next year,” Mr Miriori said.
For the rest of this article: https://postcourier.com.pg/landowners-ready-to-reopen-panguna-mine/