Reports from Bougainville say heavy machinery and vehicles belonging to a foreign mining company were destroyed in an arson attack at the Panguna mine site.
Armed men are alleged to have entered the site in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region this morning, and set fire to heavy haul trucks and other equipment stationed near the large open pit mine.
The machinery is understood to belong to Indian company Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited.
Lloyds was selected by the Autonomous Bougainville Government as one of the developers involved in plans to assess the future rehabilitation and possible reopening of the copper and gold mine.
The company has been in Bougainville advancing feasibility studies and exploration work.
Conflict over the former mine operations at the Panguna sparked Bougainville’s civil war in 1989 – since then the mine has been closed for industrial mining.
Panguna and its large reserves of copper are seen by the ABG and others as critically important to Bougainville’s aim to develop its economy as it seeks independence from Papua New Guinea.
The mine’s potential rehabilitation has remained at the centre of debate in Bougainville over ongoing discussions about resource ownership and development.
But this weekend’s unrest has raised concerns about security at the mine site and the future of proposed exploration and rehabilitation activities.
Details surrounding the attack, including the identities and motives of those responsible and the full extent of the damage, remain unclear.
PNG’s Post Courier reports that police in Bougainville are investigating the incident.
