Concern raised over mining law

Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) has raised concerns over proposed new mining laws that some members of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) seem keen to rush through parliament.
The three bills that were introduced to parliament last Wednesday, with insufficient stakeholder consultation, are proving divisive at a time when unity is required in the lead-up to the referendum.
The company said in a statement that if passed, one of the bills seeks to amend the Bougainville Mining Act 2015 to allow new company Bougainville Advance Mining Ltd to be issued with a special mining licence granting “large-scale mining leases over all land in Bougainville available for reconnaissance, exploration and mining that is not subject to an existing exploration licence or mining lease”.
“Leases of up to 100 years could be granted.
“These developments raise very legitimate legal, constitutional and ethical questions, not only by BCL and its shareholders, but also by landowners in Bougainville and others in the community.
“More widely, these bills could also be interpreted as both anti-competitive and anti-investment which is the last thing Bougainville needs.”
BCL said Bougainville introduced good laws and regulations in 2015 designed to rebalance its mineral rights after a long period of consultation with all stakeholders.
“Now those rights are being undermined in haste by these proposed changes,” it said.
“Any genuine investor worth its mettle should be able to work within the existing laws.
“The Bougainville Mining Act 2015 therefore does not need to be changed.”
BCL urged ABG leaders to think very seriously about unnecessary divisions being created by these proposed amendments to the Mining Act. It said they should instead re-focus on the important work of unifying landowners and Bougainvilleans at this critical time for Bougainville, as they prepared for the referendum.
“From the company’s own perspective, these legislative moves also ignore current court proceedings and BCL’s rights to natural justice,” BCL said.
“They are also at odds with the ABG’s decision to place a moratorium over the Panguna project area.
“The ABG has maintained there should be no discussions regarding mining activities in Panguna until after the referendum.
“For all these reasons, BCL remains a viable option for future mineral development in Bougainville and in the best interests of all Bougainvilleans.
“We would urge all members of the ABG parliament to seriously consider this before the bills are further read on Feb 12.”