We urgently need Rio Tinto to do what’s right and deal with the disaster they left,” Ms Matlob said. The move was a turning point for a company that had long operated without consequence, Indigenous rights activists said, and it marked a milestone in Australia’s resources history. Key points: RTG Mining chairman Michael Carrick says a proposal by the Central Me'ekamui Exploration Limited consortium is more realistic and "for the benefit of the… The complaint alleges the Anglo-Australian company failed to mitigate the risks posed by billions of tons of mining waste that have turned riverbeds blue and caused health problems for more than 12,000 people living downstream. Reconciling these views is not as easy a task as they range from [the late Francis] Ona’s two decades old claim for 10 billion kinas to various other forms of compensation to Mungta’s admonition that reopening of the Panguna mine would be a disaster for Bougainville. “Our rivers are poisoned with copper, our homes get filled with dust from the tailings mounds, our kids get sick from the pollution,” Ms. Matbob added. Panguna is a copper and gold mine that Anglo-Australian multinational Rio Tinto exploited, through its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), from 1972 to 1989. The company which used to the run the controversial Panguna copper mine on the island of Bougainville is now trying to reopen it with the support of the island's Government. Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto is once again facing a backlash after it reportedly "side-stepped" its responsibility after failing to clean up toxic waste from a closed mine on the autonomous Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville. A group of Bougainville residents have filed a human rights complaint against Rio Tinto, alleging ongoing environmental, health and economic impacts from mining waste. A large number of nearby communities, Ms. Adams added, “don’t have access to safe, clean nearby water sources.” She said Rio Tinto desperately needed to conduct a risk assessment, and to contribute substantially to an independent fund to assist in the cleanup and managing of ongoing health problems in the community. The moratorium is a dramatic turnaround in policy from the Autonomous Bougainville Government, which determined landowners felt BCL didn't deserve a social licence to run the mine. Follow SBS News to join in the conversation and never miss the latest live updates. We urgently need Rio Tinto to do what’s right and deal with the disaster they have left behind," Matbob said. The mine was the largest non-aid revenue stream of the Government of Papua New Guinea from the nation’s independence in 1975 to the mine’s closure. (Image from archives via Bougainville Copper Limited) 29/09/2020 1:59:00 AM. In 2016 Rio divested from the mine, passing on its shares to the Papua New Guinea and Bougainville governments, in a move locals say allowed the miner to entirely avoid the costs of clean-up. “If Rio Tinto is serious about learning lessons, it needs to listen to communities and take responsibility for the human impacts of its activities,” Ms Adams said. Rio Tinto divested from the mine in 2016, giving its 53.8% interest in Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) to the Papua New Guinea government and the autonomous Bougainville … Port Moresby Office +(675) 309 2800 BCL The group of Bougainville residents have asked Rio Tinto to fund an independent environmental and human rights impact assessment of the mine and support a program to help address any issues and assist long-term rehabilitation efforts. The United Nations Environment program will help Papua New Guinea's island of Bougainville manage on-going environmental issues associated with the Rio Tinto-owned Panguna copper mine. " The Bougainville Government is holding a crucial mining warden's hearing at the abandoned copper mine which sparked a decade-long armed insurgency against the Papua New Guinea Government. He set up the Bougainville Interim Government (BIG), but it had little power, and the island began to descend into disarray. 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