Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL) said in early May the people of Bougainville’s future depended on the reopening of the Panguna mine. But Bougainvilleans do have a choice for their economic future not solely based on mining. We know this because, during the war, Bougainvilleans found they were very capable of supporting themselves outside of mining: outside the cash economy altogether.
See http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/lessons-from-the-blockade/.