Coleman traut sich noch nicht :-( positive News zu verkünden
By Elisabeth Behrmann
of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Discussions to restart mining at Bougainville Copper Ltd.'s (BOC.AU) Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea are ongoing, but a resumption of mining activity on the autonomous island is still a long way off, the company secretary said this week.
"Discussions have been going on for a long time, but the mine is still a no-go zone," Paul Coleman told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview, responding to press reports that the ongoing dialogue with the Papua New Guinea and autonomous Bougainville governments could soon lead to a formal renegotiation of the Bougainville Copper Agreement, which covered royalties and land access.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) shut the Panguna operation in 1989 following attacks on infrastructure and after dissatisfaction among workers from the local population over royalty payments spiraled into open warfare on Bougainville Island, which resulted in the area becoming an autonomous zone.
Since talk of progress for Bougainville Copper hit the market, its share price has doubled to A$1.80, adding over 30% in the space of three trading days from late October to Nov. 1.
"Our discussions are focusing on general mining concepts, and while there is continual dialogue, it's difficult to talk about a restart of the mine. It's still a long way before any restart to mining activity," said Coleman.
Panguna produced about 180,000 metric tons of copper annually and at the time ranked as the world's third largest copper mine, but there has been no resumption of exploration or mining as site access is still off-limits despite the formation of an autonomous island government.
Rio Tinto owns 53.85% of the company, valued at A$603 million, and the Papua New Guinea government another 19.9%. The European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper, a group of individual private investors, is also pushing for a restart of the mine.
The capital cost to restart the mine is pegged around US$1.2 billion.
Mining contributes around 50% to Papua New Guinea's exports, with petroleum and gas adding another 25%. Other companies active in the country include Lihir Gold Ltd. (LGG.T) and Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX).
-By Elisabeth Behrmann, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2965; elisabeth.behrmann@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2007 01:39 ET (06:39 GMT)
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