Media Release4 February 2019PROPOSED MINING LAWS RAISE...

Media Release

4 February 2019

PROPOSED MINING LAWS RAISE SERIOUSCONCERNS

Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) has seriousconcerns over proposed new mining laws that some members of the AutonomousBougainville Government (ABG) seem keen to rush through parliament.

The three bills that were introduced toparliament last Wednesday, with insufficient stakeholder consultation, areproving divisive at a time when unity is required in the lead-up to thereferendum.

If passed, one of the bills seeks to amend the BougainvilleMining Act 2015 to allow a new company, Bougainville Advance MiningLimited, to be issued with a special mining licence granting “large-scalemining leases over all land in Bougainville available for reconnaissance,exploration and mining that is not subject to an existing exploration licenceor mining lease”. Leases of up to 100 years could be granted.

These bills mirror proposals put forward by anAustralian opportunist Jeffery McGlinn, whose apparent primary business appearsto be horse breeding. In presentations to MPs and others he has proposed a 40per cent stake in Bougainville Advance Mining for his own newly formed companyCaballus Mining with other unknown foreign investors and sovereign states.

These developments raise very legitimate legal,constitutional and ethical questions, not only by BCL and its shareholders, butalso by landowners in Bougainville and others in the community. More widelythese bills could also be interpreted as both anti-competitive andanti-investment which is the last thing Bougainville needs.

Bougainville introduced good laws andregulations in 2015 designed to rebalance Bougainville’s mineral rights after along period of consultation with all stakeholders. Now those rights are beingundermined in haste by these proposed changes. Any genuine investor worth itsmettle should be able to work within the existing laws. The Bougainville MiningAct 2015 therefore does not need to be changed.

BCL urges ABG leaders to think very seriouslyabout the unnecessary divisions being created by these proposed amendments tothe Mining Act and instead re-focus on the important work of unifyinglandowners and Bougainvilleans at this critical time for Bougainville, as theyprepare for the referendum.

From the company’s own perspective, theselegislative moves also ignore current court proceedings and BCL’s rights tonatural justice and they are also at odds with the ABG’s decision to place amoratorium over the Panguna project area. The ABG has maintained there shouldbe no discussions regarding mining activities in Panguna until after thereferendum.

In early 2018, the ABG advised of a decisionnot to grant BCL an extension of its exploration licence (EL1) over the Pangunaproject area.

BCL maintains that the application process wasboth legally and procedurally flawed and was also undermined by other partieswith competing commercial interests in Panguna mineral rights.

To protect the interests of all those with asignificant stake in our company, including the people of Bougainville, BCLcommenced legal proceedings in the PNG National Court seeking a Judicial Reviewof the decision. We were subsequently granted leave by the court to seek thereview.

Since being invited back to Bougainville in2012 by the ABG to reengage about the prospect of redeveloping Panguna, BCL hasalways conducted itself in an ethical and respectful manner and we continue tosupport worthwhile community projects.

The ABG and PNG National Government remainmajor shareholders in the company and we retain strong support among customarylandowners in the project area and others in the community. BCL also possessesvaluable local knowledge, project IP and mining expertise.

We have a highly-regarded local board led byrespected Bougainvillean Sir Melchior Togolo as well as strong connectionswithin the global mining and investment communities where there are potentialproject partners.

For all these reasons BCL remains a viableoption for future mineral development in Bougainville and in the best interestsof all Bougainvilleans, we would urge all members of the ABG parliament toseriously consider this before the bills are further read on 12 February.

Community leaders, landowners and others whoare concerned by these proposals also have an opportunity to ensure theirvoices are heard by decision-makers before these laws are passed.

 

Media contact: Cameron Hill on +61 400 940 968