Thousands of Bougainville residents support lawsuit against mining giant

Bougainville residents hold Rio Tinto responsible for large-scale environmental and social harm.
photo: 123 RF

4,500 Bougainville residents now support a lawsuit against mining giant Rio Tinto.

This is the first time since 1996 that another 1,500 people from the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea have joined the action. Submitted in May this year.

Bougainville President Ismail Toroama said the lawsuit was disappointing and was filed by those working to undermine Bougainville’s interests.

He said the government would not support it in any form.

The claimants are seeking billions of dollars in damages from Rio Tinto, which operated the Panguna copper and gold mine in the 1970s and 1980s before it was forced to close due to civil war.

The mine was at the centre of a war that brought death and destruction to Bougainville for 10 years until 1997.

They said Rio Tinto, then a majority shareholder in Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), was responsible for large-scale environmental and social harm caused by one of the world’s largest mines.

Martin Miriori, the lead plaintiff in the class action and a former senior Bougainville political leader, said: “The significant increase in the number of plaintiffs shows that local people strongly believe that Rio Tinto and BCL must be compensated for decades of environmental damage.”

“This problem will not go away as long as legal action has strong support and reminds the world of the damage caused by the reckless behavior of mine operators,” he said.

The first court hearing is scheduled for October 10, 2024 in Port Moresby.

Panguna open-pit copper mine in Bougainville.
photo: 123 RF