In a report titled “Dealing with the Tribe: The politics of the Bapo/Lonmin Royalty to Equity Conversion”, the Society, Work and Development Institute (Swop) described the empowerment deal between the 40000-strong Bapo tribe in North West and Lonmin as problematic.
Shares in London-listed Acacia Mining shot up after Tanzania’s President said parent company Barrick Gold is willing to reimburse money that’s owed to the government.
Casting a proverbial shadow over BP’s enterprise is the giant Grasberg mine in West Papua, owned by US company Freeport and British-Australian corporation Rio Tinto.
The women, supported by youths, men and children, were disputing the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and Panguna landowners. This will see Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) return to reopen the Mine before June 2019.
Rio Tinto may have walked away from Bougainville, but a legacy of conflict remains. The ‘Bougainville Hardliners’ have strongly opposed the Autonomous Bougainville Government’s decision to re-open the Panguna Mine with Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) as the preferred operator.
