"Rio Tinto faces lawsuit over Panguna copper mine in Bougainville," 23 May 2024

Thousands of people in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, have filed a class action lawsuit against Rio Tinto Plc and its former unit Bougainville Copper Ltd. over what they say is historical mismanagement of the massive Panguna copper mine.

Panguna, which was operated by Bougainville Copper, shut in 1989 after local protests over the disbursement of revenue from the mine degenerated into a civil war that killed as many as 20,000 people. The villagers are seeking compensation for loss and damage that could be expected to be in the billions of dollars...

Rio Tinto said in an emailed statement that a class action proceeding has been filed against it and Bougainville Copper in the National Court of Justice of Papua New Guinea. “We are reviewing the details of the claim. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to comment further at this time,” the company said.

Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama, who visited the US last November, has said he wants to reopen the mine, which still holds billions of dollars worth of copper, gold and silver to finance the region’s independence from Papua New Guinea...