SPECIAL MINING LEASE OSIKAIYANG LANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC...

SPECIAL MINING LEASE OSIKAIYANG LANDOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC (5-4832)Level 2, Karoona House
Panguna Town, Panguna District
Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

 

 

8 FEBRUARY 2019

PRESS RELEASE

 

CONFLICTING CLAIMS MADE OVER McGLINN GRAB FOR PANGUNA

URGENT NEED FOR CLARIFICATION

 

Mr Lawrence Daveona, the immediate past Chairman of the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowners Association said today,

 

“There are important and contradictory claims being made over the Perth entrepreneur - Jeffrey McGlinn’s attempted grab for Panguna from the Customary Owners.”

 

The Autonomous Bougainville Government (”ABG”) is saying the McGlinn deal is good for two reasons.  Firstly, that the US$150m that McGlinn has promised from mystery sources, if his demands to strip Landowners of their rights under the Bougainville Mining Act (“BMA”) are first met, will be available soon to be able to fund the ABG Referendum and for the personal use of the ABG. Secondly, they claim that the ABG’s interest in BMA is “permanent” or more accurately, non dilutive and therefore the ABG will never lose control to Mr McGlinn.

 

“The Caballus-McGlinn formal written proposal completely contradicts both claims. Both cannot be right - only one. There is an urgent need to clarify who is right. McGlinn or the ABG?” said Mr Daveona.

 

The Caballus proposal says something completely different on both these fundamental points.

 

The formal written presentation by Caballus says the US$150m is for an equity issue in Bougainville Advance Mining to fund the Bankable Feasibility Study and pre-construction costs for the Mine. This is not to fund the ABG.

 

“Whose money is it then” asked Mr Daveona “and how will you have it in time to fund the Referendum with all this turmoil and angst created by Mr McGlinn’s plans to strip us of all our rights?”

 

The Caballus presentation also says, that Mr McGlinn has the right to issue further shares in BMA. This will dilute the ABG.

 

Mr Daveona said “this is a ludicrous proposition anyway as no-one can be given a 60% free carry in a project like Panguna – the economics simply do not work.”

 

Mr Daveona said, “There has to be transparency and clarity before the House can be asked to vote on McGlinn’s unprecedented and unconscionable demands. These claims are mutually exclusive and McGlinn has to be honest.”

Philip Miriori
Chairman
Lawrence Daveona - Former Chairman and Special Advisor