An advance team from Bougainville is now in Port Moresby in preparation for the next Joint Supervisory Body Meeting that will take place in Port Moresby next month. The Panguna mine area landowners and the Autonomous Bougainville government have reached a joint resolution to re-open the Panguna Mine will feature in the JSB agenda that is now being prepared. JSB is the meeting that is co-chaired by Prime Minister James Marape and ABG President Ishmael Toroama.
Panguna Mine landowners signed the joint resolution in February, signed by clan chiefs and representatives from the five major clans of the Panguna area – Basikang, Kurabang, Bakoringu, Barapang and Mantaa. The signing took place at the end of a three-day summit for the Panguna landowner groups hosted in Tunuru, Central Bougainville last month.
Mr Toroama said the signing of the joint resolutions signified the beginning of a new chapter for Bougainville. This will pave way for both the National Government and the ABG to discuss further the Panguna Mine issue at the next JSB in Port Moresby in early April.
ABG is the major shareholder in BCL. The ABG’s current shares in BCL as a company, makes it a significant shareholder with more than one-third of total holdings. The National Government has also undertaken as most recently as December 2021 to divest its remaining shares to the ABG.
This will increase the ABG’s total shareholding in BCL to around 76 per cent, making it the majority shareholder The Bougainville government is confident that the re-opening of the Panguna Mine will be a major booster for the region’s economic future and at the same time, guarantee Bougainville’s political independence.
Following the signing of the joint resolutions, the ABG through the Department of Mineral and Energy Resources and other relevant departments, will work together with the landowner groups to facilitate the process towards the re-opening of the mine.....read related business news on Pacific Business News
Source : The Post Courier / Pacific Mining Watch
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