Trading Bougainville Copper (ADRs) 867948

Quelle : http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2014/08/...intentions.html#more


19 August 2014
Rio Tinto offers a more nuanced view of its Panguna intentions

Peter TaylorKEITH JACKSON

CHAIRMAN of Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), Peter Taylor (pictured), has been reported by Radio Australia as saying parent company Rio Tinto may yet return to Bougainville.

In an earlier statement, Rio said it would review its majority stake in its subsidiary BCL.

The Australian newspaper reported this morning that this meant Rio was “likely to quit” its 53.8% stake in Bougainville Copper.

But in a more nuanced statement Mr Taylor told Radio Australia he's optimistic a solution can be found.

"One can't pre-empt what the outcome of that study is," he said, referring to the Rio review.

"It may be that Rio Tinto decides to pursue its investment, it may not, but I can't speculate."

BCL has been negotiating with landowners and the PNG and Bougainville governments for three years.

"The key challenge was to get the landowners and the landowner groups to come together and have a common agenda so they could come together and negotiate with the company, and the Bougainville government and the national government, and we've achieved that," Mr Taylor said.

Despite the past, most landowners want mining to restart, but on their terms, he said.

Mr Taylor said last week’s mining legislation passed by the Bougainville government was a setback.

He said under the new law, BCL will have to reapply for the mining lease it has lost.

The law gives landowners powerful veto rights over exploration, but not over mining of an area once an exploration licence is granted.

"It is complex but nonetheless I am optimistic that a reasonable solution can be achieved," Mr Taylor said

 

BY ROMULUS MASIU

A LOT of the people on mainland Bougainville, especially in Central and South Bougainville, say the mining bill passed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government, was done without proper consultation through the council of eders and village assemblies.
The Post-Courier interviewed several people who said consultations could have been done better.
Steven Madaku from Toboroi village in Kieta district said: “The bill is null and void as there was no proper consultations with the Council of Elders and Village Assemblies on the whole issue.”
Thomas Miarama, also from Kieta district, said the bill is tricky (mining bill section 211) as it (bill) has the all foreign interest in it under mining bill, section 211. The bill must be stand alone with no foreign interruptions.
Edwin Miri from Kanavitu, also in Kieta district, said the ABG should have its own mining policy before the bill is passed. “I don’t agree because ABG doesn’t have a proper mining policy yet,” he said.
Andrew Nompo from Donsiro village said the ABG must have its own mining policy first before bill is passed.
Rosemary Moses from Siredonsi said there was no proper awareness conducted and carried out to the grassroots people.
The people should have a lawyer to represent them in the ABG Mining Division, she said.
“ABG should have followed the wishes of the resource owners. This bill has been rushed, people not fully consulted – ABG should really come down to the people and get their views and what they think,” said Michael Vore from Sisivi village in Wakunai district.
Patrick Kanasu from Siwai district said the ABG rushed with the mining bill, adding that they should have talked and negotiate with BCL first before passing the bill.
“The passing of this bill is a big issue. More awareness should have been done,” said paramount chief of Arawa village, Mark Niniku.
“The bill has been passed at the government level while the people are still in the dark – all groups should be included such as youth groups that should lead in the awareness campaign before the bill is passed.”
Steven Sonnei from Siwai, South Bougainville said people should be fully made aware before the bill is passed, adding that what policy ABG draft must benefit every Bougainvillean as every resource on top and below the ground belonged to the people thus the people must be the beneficiaries of every law the government makes.

........at Bougainville’s shotgun wedding?

http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/...invilles-shotgun-wedding/

President John Momis and his Australian advisors have made very clear the only future they see for Bougainville is one centered around the re-opening of the Panguna mine. They have refused to even consider the prospect of alternative routes to economic self-sufficiency for an independent Bougainville.

Bougainville has been forced to marry the mining industry.

But what happens if one groom gets cold feet? Because of the one-track economic policy pursued by Momis Inc there is no way out, another suitor from the mining industry will have to be found.

So the big question on everyone’s lips is, now that Rio Tinto is publicly stating it is reviewing whether it wants to retain its interest in the project, is there anything to stop a Chinese takeover and what would that mean for Bougainville?
China is notorious for exporting prisoners to build projects overseas

China is notorious for exporting its prisoners to build projects overseas

Momis of course already has very strong links to the Chinese and was Papua New Guinea’s Ambassador to China before challenging for the Presidency. In 2010 the ABG signed no less than seven MOUs with Chinese companies during a visit to China led by President Momis himself.

Peter Barter, recently appointed to head the Panguna Trust Fund Board, is another ex PNG Government Minister with strong links to China.

Barter is credited with facilitating the deal under which the Somare government sold the rights to the Ramu nickel deposit to Chinese state owned corporation, MCC. MCC, a company branded fraudulent and corrupt by the World Bank constructed the Ramu mine using conscripted Chinese convicts and persuaded the PNG government to not only give them a 10-year tax holiday but to also allow the dumping of toxic mine tailings into the pristine Madang Bay.

Just a few weeks ago the Ramu mine was shut down by villagers angered by MCC’s mis-management of the mine. MCC says the villages caused millions of kina worth of damage to vital mine equipment and infrastructure…

Is this the future Momis has created for Panguna?

The Joint Panguna Negotiation Coordination Committee (JPNCC) met in Buka last Friday to discuss the selection of consultants to conduct environmental, social and economic studies in the Panguna area.
The JPNCC comprises representatives from the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the Papua New Guinea National Government, Panguna-affected landowners and Bougainville Copper Limited.
It is part of a process that ensures all key stakeholders have the same access to information about a possible resumption of mining on Bougainville.
Its responsibilities include the supervision of environmental, social and economic studies as well as the customary bel kol reconciliation process.
As with all decisions made by the JPNCC, the selection of consultants for the baseline studies will be made unanimously.
The JPNCC is guided in these processes by an independent panel of experts, the Project Support Team.
For the environmental baseline study, the team is evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of expressions of interest from consultants.
At the same time, the United Nations Environment Programme will independently evaluate tenders using the same criteria.

One thing seems to confuse me here with all the draft law on mining.

First we accuse Tony Reagan of drafting a law pro-BCL and when the law is passed we realise it is pro-ABG/Bougainville and strips licences from BCL. Then why are we opposing the draft law again after it has been passed? YUMI LONGLONG PINIS OR OLSEM WANEM NAU...

Kristioan has always been anti mining and BCL so why read a script from someone whom we wil lalready know the conclusion he writes...

Everything seems to be confused by everyone now...

Best of luck always..

Why Bougainville landowners oppose Rio Tinto"s return

Written by Kris Lasslet


Dr Kristian Lasslett | International State Crime Initiative

Once more Rio Tinto subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is in the headlines, after the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) passed transitional mining legislation that seemingly continues the momentum towards the re-opening of the Panguna mine.

The legislation has provoked strong condemnation from the landowning communities that will be directly impacted by the mine"s prospective reopening. They fear BCL"s return is now unstoppable.

Their opposition has been given powerful form in the Parakake Resolution, and in the poignant commentaries written by the Nasioi people"s own organic intellectuals, such as Chris Baria.

Bougainville"s President John Momis has dismissed this opposition on Radio Australia; he claims it is being stirred up by certain backdoor mining interests.

While it is hard to know whether a particular individual has or has not signed a MOU, as Momis claims, the vast majority of people in the mine affected areas have no interest whatsoever in these backdoor players. Their opposition is principled and rooted in a history that is yet to receive the public attention it thoroughly deserves, and which if recognised would provide essential context, missing from current debates.

At the bare minimum this history extends back to BCL"s so called "alleged" involvement in PNGDF military operations that were conducted during 1989-90, after the mine was closed by landowning communities through a campaign of industrial sabotage (although this essential history goes further back still, to the mine"s construction and operation, including its seismic impact on land, environment and culture).

This remains an extremely emotive issue on the ground in the mine area, because these military operations were replete with some of the most atrocious war crimes imaginable. Indeed, they were so graphic, and so horrible, it would be insensitive to describe them here – as I have learnt the trauma survivors endure is foreboding and ever-present.

Nevertheless, respected regional commentators have cast doubt over these allegations levelled against BCL. For example the celebrated ANU scholar, Anthony Regan – who was contracted to draft the controversial mining law passed through Bougainville"s parliament last week – noted in 2003, "despite some claims to the contrary, there is as yet no credible evidence that BCL took any direct part in the [military] operations against the BRA [Bougainville Revolutionary Army]". Regan maintains this position today, stating "credible evidence is yet to emerge. Perhaps such evidence will emerge one day, but I"m yet to see it".

Regan is a lucid and perceptive commentator with a strong devotion to the region, so it is difficult to understand how he, and other regional experts, can maintain this position, when so much compelling evidence is now publicly available, and presented in a range of scholarly publications.

Nevertheless, given the serious doubt regional experts have cast over these allegations, it is perhaps understandable that the media has failed to give them much credence.

In that light it is worthwhile bearing witness, once more, to the robust empirical evidence charting BCL"s past conduct, hyperlinked where possible to the primary sources (it should be emphasised here, because there appears to be confusion, this evidence has primarily emerged from independent fieldwork, and is not in any way reliant on affidavits produced for a US class action against Rio Tinto).

   On 26 November 1988, the day after landowner leaders initiated a campaign of industrial sabotage, BCL petitioned the government to deploy Mobile Squad units, to deal with these "acts of terrorism" (BCL"s meeting minutes are available here). This was a high-risk move given the Mobile Squads" human rights records. According to one BCL General Manager interviewed in 2006, they were aware of the risks: "We knew the riot squads were heavy handed, that was well known in PNG. That"s how they worked. If you threw a rock at them you would get ten rocks thrown back. They were very heavy handed in the way they handled disputes in the Highlands … We knew that the heavy handed thing wouldn"t work if they were there [on Bougainville] long term. It was a case, somebody has to come. They were the only ones that could come, and put a lid on this thing before it got out of hand".

   When Prime Minister Namaliu informed BCL"s Chairman, Don Carruthers, that his government wanted to send a peace delegation to Bougainville – as opposed to active deployment of the Mobile Squads – the Chairman threatened to withdraw Rio Tinto investment from PNG. In a memorandum to company directors dated 6 December 1988, the Chairman states: "The PM"s priority was to "appease" the landowners. I expressed the view that CRA [Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia] would want to review its assessment of PNG as a place to invest. In all, it was an unsatisfactory meeting". BCL"s Chairman also complains to company directors that the PNG government appears "unwilling or unable to assert its authority" on Bougainville. The memorandum is available here.

   In June 1989, following a Cabinet reshuffle, the PNG government declared a state of emergency, which paved the way for a PNGDF offensive to reopen the mine, and rout the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. BCL was informed by PNG"s Minister for State that the PNGDF was prepared to employ "brutal firepower" (see BCL meeting minutes here). The first offensive, operation Nakmai Maimai, began on 3 July 1989. According to evidence provided by BCL"s own executives team from this period, extensive logistic assistance was provided to the armed forces.

       One General Manager from the 1989-90 period observed in an interview conducted during 2006: "The reality was, "we [PNGDF/RPNGC] can"t do our thing because we haven"t got vehicles". So we"d give them vehicles. "Ah we haven"t got radios so we can"t communicate". So we"d give them two way radios. "Ah we can"t support our men over here, we haven"t got enough provisions". So we"d put them in the mess, we"d feed them in the mess, we"d provide them with accommodation. We did everything they asked of us to make their life more comfortable, and better able to manage through, with transport, communications, provisions, whatever, fuel. You know we gave them everything, because as a far as we saw it we were hoping that they were going to solve the situation, so we could start operating again. So we supported them every way we could".
       This testimony is corroborated by a senior official from PNG"s Prime Minister"s Department also interviewed in 2006: "We relied heavily on some of the civilian facilities provided by the company. They did everything, I mean we spent lots and lots of money, to provide backup support services for the operation, but the defence force was not properly equipped at all". A senior PNGDF officer involved in the operation confirms, "the support of the mine was so significant, it augmented where the national government was lacking".
       The above oral testimony coheres with information included in affidavits provided by the former Commander of the PNGDF, Jerry Singirok (see here), in addition to PNGDF intelligence officer, Yauka Aluambo Liria (see here).

   Over the course of 1989-90, BCL regularly met with PNGDF commanders and PNG government officials to discuss the counterinsurgency operations. During one meeting which took place on 13 July 1989, BCL"s Managing Director told PNG"s Prime Minister, "offensive activities OK and should continue". He also identified targets to be "apprehended", including the prominent Chief, Damien Dameng who BCL"s Managing Director describes as "the charismatic cult leader" (see meeting minutes here). An example of the strategic discussions frequently held with the PNGDF command can be viewed here.

   When BCL"s Chairman, Don Carruthers, was informed a military blockade was to be placed around Bougainville, cutting off all goods and services (this included medical aid), he is alleged by Sir Michael Somare to have said "[let"s] starve the bastards out" (see here) (current Bougainville President John Momis has also made a similar allegation, see here). A senior BCL manager interviewed in 2006 outlines two central concerns underpinning this alleged support for the blockade, "there were two things we were worried about. One was the ability of the militants to get more weapons to increase the level of their militancy. And the second was that there was always these threats that they were going to sell off the mine equipment".

It is incredible to think in light of this powerful oral testimony and documentary evidence from a range of highly credible sources (i.e. senior BCL managers, PNG government officials, PNGDF officers, BCL internal records), which are detailed in full here, that these accounts have failed to be included in the most recent public debate (although it is very much part of discussions at the village level). Indeed, certain journalists have implied the allegations against BCL are so tenuous, they have reached a point where they can "be put to rest".

Of course at Panguna people need no reminding of BCL"s role, they still remember the hum of BCL trucks laden with PNGDF troops, coming down the road to torch their villages.

Yet in a curious twist Bougainville"s President has often said it is the communities in the mine-affected region who have specifically petitioned his office to have BCL returned as the mine"s preferred operator. The phrase "better the devil you know" has been put on high rotation; sadly those who should know better often quote this phrase as if it is axiomatic at the village level.

It is not. In fact I have never come across a villager in the mine-affected region who uses this phrase in support of BCL"s return, indeed so raw are the scars that even the notional prospect of BCL"s return tends to elicit panic and near universal condemnation. Whoever presented this view to the President (we are yet to find out), was not accurately relaying the beliefs widely held within the mine affected communities.

Compounding the confusion, journalists rarely travel to these villages, relying instead on media releases and political statements. When they do, as the intrepid Antony Loewenstein discovered, a very different narrative emerges, one seared by a great yearning for cultural sovereignty and self-determination, underpinned by a painful history of dispossession and marginalisation.

Indeed, these are not a people who suffer from a "lack of understanding", as certain leaders have claimed (coupled to this, it has also been implied rural communities lack the "expertise" to determine what is in their own best interests). Villagers in the mine-affected area have a breathtakingly nuanced understanding of their past, and they fully recognise the complexity of the conjuncture they are currently faced with. It must also be said, these people are not dupes being manipulated by foreign activists (which is another condescending allegation circulating in the media); they have witnessed first-hand the destructive consequences of believing grandiose promises delivered by outsiders with ulterior motives, and as a result have an unwavering belief in the strength and vitality of their own wisdom (and quite rightly, too).

So it is time to pause for a moment, and truly listen to the voices of Panguna. It is time to bear witness to their suffering, and to hear their cries for justice. It is time to move beyond the sleek sound-bites supplied by governments and miners, and actually study the primary evidence and actually visit the communities, to allow them to speak for themselves. It is time for BCL and its parent company, Rio Tinto, to acknowledge the past and to atone without strings.

It is time for truth, it is time for justice, and it is time to respect the dignity of the land"s custodians; a dignity which so many, have sacrificed so much for.

Dr Lasslett"s book State Crime on the Margin"s of Empire: Rio Tinto, the War on Bougainville and Resistance to Mining is available via Pluto Press.

*A special thanks goes to Bougainvillean filmmaker Clive Porabou for the image used in this piece. Clive has tirelessly shared the voice of his people with audiences around the world through the medium of film.

 [State Crime on the Margins of Empire]

Download: Appendix F - BCL Minutes 8 June 1989

Download: Parakake Resolution 1 August 2014

Download: Appendix_D_-_BCL_Minutes_20_Dec_1989

Download: Appendix E - BCL Minutes 13 Jul 1989

Download: Declaration of John Momis 2001

Download: Declaration of Sir Michael Somare 2001

Download: Declaration of Yauka Aluambo Liria 2001

Download: Appendix B - Jerry Singirok Affidavit

Download: Appendix G - CRA Memorandum 6 December 1988

Download: Appendix A - BCL Minutes 26 Nov 1988

http://statecrime.org/online_article/...ers-oppose-rio-tintos-return/

 

auf Quelle : http://www.bougainville-copper.eu/news-august-2014-2.html


20.08.2014
Source: Radio New Zealand International

Bougainville Copper shareholders cry foul

A group of minority shareholders in Bougainville Copper Ltd are crying foul over Bougainville's new mining law and say they want billions of dollars in compensation.
Under the new law, the autonomous Papua New Guinea province has stripped Bougainville Copper or BCL of its exploration and mining licenses but has given it first right of refusal when negotiations over new licenses get underway.
The president of a group of BCL's European shareholders Axel Sturm says it is an unfriendly gesture after 25 years of investment in Bougainville.


"I consider this more or less as an attempted blackmail for getting more money from the company. We already invested a lot of money on the island, a lot of that money was lost because unlawful people destroyed our equipment with the value today of around 6 billion US dollars."


Mr Sturm says the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper are urging the major shareholder Rio Tinto to take further legal action against not only the Papua New Guinea government and the province but local landowners and former leaders of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.  

Mr. Sturm "der Präsident" sagt viel wenn der Tag lang ist.  

Ich war schon immer der Meinung, das Herr Sturm mit seinem Aktionismus kontraproduktiv ist.  

nervt die da unten hoffentlich nicht so sehr, dass rio tinto allein
deswegen keinen bock mehr auf panguna hat....  kleiner scherz.
aber in der tat; sein engagement in ehren, aber man soll es nicht
übertreiben und auch immer einen klaren blick haben, wenn man
versteht, was ich meine.....  

...anderen sehen es anders. Sich aber dadurch den `klaren Blick` verstellen zu lassen  ist wenig sinnvoll.
Fakt ist: von Bougainville aus gesehen liegt Europa sehr weit weg.;-)

Im Moment ist ganz offensichtlich  die Zeit des taktierens  und was dann letztendlich wirklich  zählt sind die  Ergebnisse. Es ist halt wie im richtigen Leben ;-)))


 

Peterson Tseraha | PNG Loop

THE latest mining bill that was passed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government two weeks ago was a success to many Bougainvilleans, but some are still confused about the bill and how it will be enforced.
A call has been made for awareness and enforcement for village based people to understand the whole bill, its sections and clauses.
A concerned Bougainvillean citizen who wishes to remain anonymous told this reporter more awareness is needed in order for this bill to be understood.
“It has already been misinterpreted and misunderstood, leading up to a protest,’’ he said.
“Mining still remains a very sensitive issue on Bougainville right now.  Anything done on the floor of parliament has to go down well with the majority of the people, especially the silent majority, and the only way is through awareness,’’ he said.
He said that the bill itself allows for resource owners to own the resources and any interested mining company enquiring for exploration, should come in through the Government, the legitimate authority on the ground  which is none other than the ABG.
“A lot of people agree with that but the big thing is that a lot of people are interpreting it as the bill is still of relevance to the PNG Mining Act of 1992 and all clauses still relate to the same old Devil which caused Bougainville and PNG a lot of trouble BCL,’’ he said
The concerned citizen also said, people who are educated will understand the bill fully but not the ones who are in the villages and mountains of Bougainville. Those are the ones that really matter,  the people in the village.
He stated that the Autonomous Government under the leadership of Chief Dr John Momis is unique,  straight forward and the government for the people.
But bills have been passed however now has to be the time to enforce those bills, he says.


 

New post on Papua New Guinea Mine Watch
                    
           §
Bougainville Copper maintains inside running on re-opening Panguna mine
by ramunickel

Business Advantage PNG

The Bougainville parliament has just passed an interim mining act, paving the way for its troubled Panguna copper mine to re-open. Even though the new act removes the automatic renewal of its lease to continue, Bougainville Copper Limited is still the preferred mine operator, as Kevin McQuillan reports.

Bouginaville’s mining regime seeks to redress what Dr John Momis, the President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), describes as the ‘extremely unjust and unfair Mining (Bougainville Copper Agreement) Law 1967’.

The issues include control over the terms of mining leases and the share of the income from mining.

At the heart of the new mining regime is that:

   traditional landowners, and not the State, own the minerals in, on or under their land;
   the ABG will own the minerals in, on or under non-customary land;
   customary owners will have a right of veto over the grant of any exploration licence over their land. (See box below for further details.)

No independence without revenue

Earlier this month, Bougainville’s Finance Minister, Albert Punghau, outlined Bougainville’s delicate financial situation to the 65-member forum tasked with developing a negotiating position on the future of Panguna.

This year, he said, the ABG will collect revenues of about K25 million—less than 10 per cent of its annual budget—with the rest coming from PNG’s National Government.

‘Without much more revenue, we can’t reach [the] highest autonomy or independence. We cannot meet the increasing needs of our people,’ he said.

John Momis recently told Business Advantage PNG that only the re-opening of Panguna will provide the revenue necessary for economic development: ‘with the way things are going, we don’t have much option, really.’

The vast majority of Bougainvilleans agree the mine should reopen, according to a source close to the ABG.

‘The clear message coming from the Panguna landowners is to resume mining, not because it’s wonderful, but because we’re not going to have economic development and independence which clearly the vast majority think they can achieve,’ they tell Business Advantage PNG.

Re-opening Panguna

While Momis has described the Transitional Mining Bill as ‘stripping’ BCL, the previous operator of the Panguna mine, of its seven exploration licences and its special mining lease over Panguna, the issue is not that clear-cut.

The new Act does not grant any minerals to BCL, but it does give BCL the first right of refusal to negotiate with both the ABG and landowners for a mining licence over the Panguna site, says Momis.

‘Landowners want the devil they know, not a new devil, because the devil they know accepts that it did many things wrong and accepts responsibility for fixing them up and they fear that a new devil would not accept those responsibilities,’ say government sources.

Rio Tinto reviewing BCL ownership

This week, Rio Tinto announced it was reviewing its 54 per cent ownership of BCL, in light of the new legislation.

BCL Managing Director, Peter Taylor, is unfazed by the news, telling Business Advantage PNG that any changes to the ownership of BCL shares will not affect its plans to continue negotiating with the ABG and landowners.

He says he’s still ‘optimistic’ of striking a deal to re-open the mine.

‘BCL will continue to engage and continue in talks about reopening the mine,’ he tells Business Advantage PNG.

Rio is reviewing a whole bunch of projects and BCL is just one of them,’ he said. ‘They might decide not to sell. I don’t want to pre-empt an outcome.’

Other buyers

‘Rio Tinto is large enough to have done their sums, looking at the costs of benefits, so I don’t know if we will see a new player on the scene,’ according to Satish Chand, a finance professor at the University of New South Wales.

Chinese buyers are currently looking at copper deposits in PNG. Guangdong Rising Assets Management Co. has been considering a takeover of Pan Aust, an Australian company poised to acquire a majority stake in the Frieda River copper project in East and West Sepik provinces.

Carpetbaggers?

In the ABG parliament this month, Momis named four companies from Canada, the US and China ‘with very dubious or limited track records in the mining industry’, who were ‘entering into arrangements with Bougainville factions and leaders’.

He also named five local landowners who were bypassing the ABG and dealing with the companies.

‘Very largely opposition to mining has been orchestrated by the Bougainville[-based] partners or agents of outside groups seeking to get control of significant mining resources in Bougainville without any government approval,’ sources advise Business Advantage PNG.

‘The truth is that the Bill is designed to stop unscrupulous and dishonest outsiders who together with a few weak or dishonest Bougainvilleans are the ones trying to both buy and sell Bougainville,’ said Momis.

The cost of rehabilitating the mine is about A$6 billion (K13.72 billion), and revenues for the life of the mine are estimated at $A75 billion in 2014 dollars.

A lot of reasons to attract modern-day carpetbaggers.
ramunickel | August 22, 2014 at 1:31 pm | Tags: ABG, BCL, Bougainville, Chinese mining, John Momis, Landholders, Panguna, Papua New Guinea, Rio Tinto | Categories: Financial returns, Papua New Guinea | URL: http://wp.me/pMvf7-3Dx  

.......In dem Absatz:           Re-opening Panguna. While Momis has described the Transitional Mining Bill as ‘stripping’ BCL, the previous operator of the Panguna mine........... ‘Landowners want the devil they know, not a new devil, because the devil they know accepts that it did many things wrong and accepts responsibility for fixing them up and they fear that a new devil would not accept those responsibilities,’ say government sources.

Immerhin. Diese Erkenntniss  ist vorhanden. ;-))

Aber 4 x `` devil``. ;-)))))

 Hier (bei uns)  kann sich  jeder Unternehmer auf die  Unterstützung des verantwortlichen  Komunalpolitikers oder Landespolitikers oder Meinungsmachers verlassen, wenn er Arbeitsplätze schafft!! Warum nicht mal langsam mal

``` Partner ````. Es irritiert gewaltig.

Viele Australier  übersetzen solche Aussagen wie in dem obigen Absatz sinngemäß so : eigentlich fürchten Sie die Arbeit wie der Teufel das Weihwasser. !!!!

 

http://ramumine.wordpress.com/2014/08/22/...-re-opening-panguna-mine/

I am not at all sure whether specific Panguna and ABG Mining (transitional) Act 2014 are related to a broader Rio Tinto review of its global non performing assetts are understood clearly by commentators. That Review is normal prudent business practice for any credible business entity intending to consolidated it's commercial interests anywhere. Rio Tinto is at the moment reportedly raising capital for two large lucrative gold copper ventures and is unloading or selling non performing assett as a result. BCL and Panguna are not specifically targeted in the review. The Panguna venture has been buried in a much broader review by Rio Tinto. No real need to panic just yet. As things stand the issues related to BCLs concerns are left to the pending negotiations of a new mining contract.

Well, well, well. It's like the shit has just hit the fan and the crap in the mining legislation is going to fly in the face of everybody, especially the landowners, and BCL. The Landowners don't like the legislation, whether it is transitional or not. Yet we are told ABG not only bent backwards but fell backwards to accommodate prolong and relentless pursuit by Kauona, Daveona, Philip Miriori and others pursuing the rights of landowners. For its part BCL is also very disappointed for the reasons it has made known to the ABG in the JPNCC meeting in Buka last week. And Rio from the accounts we are reading is now seriously considering its options whether to stay or pull out. For the Landowners in Panguna that have let it be known to all sundry at home and abroad that they would rather get into bed with the devil they know than with a new Devil they aren't sure any more if there is anything left to entice the devil with. Most of them have been in the dark because the debate and legislative process in Buka for the last 3 years has been as far away from them as the South Pole is from Alaska. If anyone doesn't know yet, we can no longer speak of or talk about the landowner lease Associations like SML or UTL or LTL or PMAR etc etc because they have been expunged by the operation of the Mining Act. The 9 Associations now no longer exist in IPA registry or in reality. You get the idea that may be as a transitional legislation as we are told it is Mining Act Mark I and if there is too much fuss the Speaker can reconvene Parliament for another special or extraordinary meeting to pass legislation to pass a more re conciliatory Bill that will be Mining Act Mark II. In the midst of the apprehension and confusion about what the Act says or doesn't say or gives or takes away I have confidence that our staff in the ABG mining Department in discussions with, and including advice from, MRO and others may work through the implementable aspects of the legislation. But we must remember that with the successful passage of the Act Bougainville is out in the real world now. As far as this piece of legislation is concerned, this isn't political or landowner or Ossikaiang or Meka'amui rhetoric and breast beating in the confines of conference rooms any more. It is not easy to translate or transplant or ingrain kastom into a legislation or written constitution in any complete or even complimentary sense to accommodate and appease the deep seated feelings of people. It is even more arduous and difficult to mould into a workable shape and proposition legislation that must also take account of economic and commercial prerogatives as well as interests of investors that aren't going to rush to an Island that is still recovering from a crisis. I think the ABG has tried too hard and much too single-handedly too to perfect a legislation to please everybody. What we have ended up is something that parties that stand to be most affected are not very happy with. I am not sure that by trying to please everybody the ABG hasn't shot itself in both feet.  

It's done, I guess we all have to work at it and with it. But please don't believe anyone that says any world class miners will come running or falling over backwards to get here. Apart from the Chinese, and may be the Filipinos, it's very hard to see any reputable or respectable or bankable miner going up to Panguna or anywhere under some of the terms of the present legislation. But our Govt. has decided and I guess we have to respect the decision and wear it. A word of advice to landowners is this. Often a person can lose everything in an attempt to get everything for themselves. Who knows, Panguna may never reopen. But then, it might all work out as our legislators. Yumi yet nao.  

... But please don't believe anyone that says any world class miners will come running or falling over backwards to get here. Apart from the Chinese, and may be the Filipinos, it's very hard to see any reputable or respectable or bankable miner going up to Panguna or anywhere under some of the terms of the present legislation........

....das wird  das kleinste Problem sein. Für gutes Geld (und genügend Vorlauf) bekommst du auch gutes Fach - Personal.

Wer wenn nicht  Rio hat da die besten Chancen sich adäquat  
am Markt  einzudecken. ;-))))

Ich halte es auch nicht für ausgeschlossen das aus der alten Stammmannsschaft noch
Potenzial vorhanden ist und reaktiviert werden kann.

 

"For the Landowners in Panguna that have let it be known to all sundry at home and abroad that they would rather get into bed with the devil they know than with a new Devil"

Auch Momis u. das ABG favorisieren BOC in jedem Statement, je schneller desto besser.

PNG als Bremser der möglichen Independence werden nach der übertragung der Mining-Power nur noch eine untergeordnete Rolle spielen u. ihren 19% Anteil an BOC in den Belcol Zeremonien an das ABG übertragen (müssen)


Dass BOC momentan seiner 7 Lizenzen verlustig ist,ist nicht weiter schlimm, sind doch dadurch (das ABG hat das Sagen) Morumbi u. & definitiv ausgebremst.Allen Beteiligten ist zudem bekannt dass ein 5 Mrd Invest in Panguna sich nur rechnet wenn auch Atamo im Bloc carve mining System mitgefördert wird.

.................... of the province’s mining sector.

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/regional/...ry-landowners-critics


New B’ville mining laws fails customary landowners: critics

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   Published: 24 August 2014

A legal analysis commissioned by the Mineral Policy Institute says Bougainville’s new Mining Law fails to protect the rights of local people.

The law is also in breach of Bougainville’s own Constitution and is inconsistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, reports PNG Minewatch.

The opinion finds the rights given to customary landowners under the new mining law are “vastly inferior” than those given to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the consultation provisions fail to fulfill the universally recognised principles of prior, free and informed consent.

By giving joint ownership of customarily owned mineral resources to landowners and the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the law contradicts Bougainville’s Constitution which requires laws to protect the ownership of mineral resources by the people of Bougainville in accordance with custom.

The opinion was provided in August 2013 and considers an earlier draft of the Mining Law, but none of the key provisions of the law that was passed earlier this month are materially different, says PNG Minewatch.

However, the Chief Administrator in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville, Chris Siriosi, claimed critics were misinformed, adding that once the public was informed they would see what protections the law offers, reports Radio NZ International.

Bougainville’s Parliament last week passed what President John Momis said was a world first, with the legislation ensuring landowners would own the resources on their land.

It removed existing licences – including stripping Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL), operators of the Panguna mine closed by the 10-year civil war – and shut the national government out of the province’s mining sector.

Critics claim the measure will make it easier for foreign companies to gain a foothold but the government says there is no basis to that claim.

Siriosi told RNZI’s Don Wiseman people with vested interests had spread misinformation but awareness building would overcome this.

- RNZI

– and the ABG knows it!

http://pngexposed.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/...e-and-the-abg-knows-it/

August 25, 2014 Leave a comment Go to comments

MRA records show BCL’s mining lease over Panguna expired in 2011 and its exploration licences will expire next year. BCL’s own Annual Report and a previous statement from John Momis appear to confirm this state of affairs. So where does that leave all the media of the last few weeks…

So the plot thickens. Over the past fortnight, the media has gone into a fervour after Rio Tinto declared it will reconsider its majority stake in Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL).

This change of heart occurred, so we are told, after the Transitional Mining Act ‘stripped’ Rio’s subsidiary BCL of its mining leases and exploration licences. Some more shrill shareholders have called this expropriation, pure and simple.

Indicative of the recent headlines is the following remark which appeared in the Wall Street Journal:

   ‘The Anglo-Australian company [Rio Tinto] on Monday said it was reviewing its options for its controlling stake in Bougainville Copper Ltd, after the [Bougainville] government passed new laws that could strip the company of its lease on its Panguna mine’.

This seemingly bold step has been trumpeted by the Autonomous Bougainville Government as evidence that it is no stooge of Rio Tinto or the mining industry.

But it seems we may have all been fooled by what appears to be an elaborate hoax, which has been played out through the national and international media.

In their eagerness to trumpet the headlines ‘Rio Tinto stripped …’, no one has actually bothered to verify if BCL still actually holds a lease over Panguna!

Tsk tsk.

250814LONG TERM BOUGAINVILLE MINING LAW PROGRESSES
BY JENNIFER NKUI

A workshop was conducted in Buka last Friday to brief the ABG Cabinet and senior Bougainville public services officers on the draft Act of the Long Term Bougainville Mining Law.
The workshop was conducted by experts and the Bougainville team to seek the views of the ministers on the draft Act.
In a joint statement, deputy president Patrick Nsiria and minister for natural resources Michael Oni said the mining department has worked for seven years to develop a policy framework for a long term mining law which will meet Bougainville’s special needs.
They said the ABG’s aim was for a new law that truly meets our special needs and follows the world’s best practice or is even better than that.
They added that the cabinet members were satisfied that the long and detailed draft Act and regulations give effect to the ABG’s previous decisions on policy and give us a best practice law.
The deputy and his minister explained that the draft ‘Long Term’ Act builds on the foundation of the Bougainville Transitional mining Act.
They said it provides a framework making small scale mining by Bougainvilleans legal and maintains the abolition of the Bougainville Copper Agreement, the SML created by it and all exploration licenses held by BCL since the 1960’s.
They added that the ‘Long Term’ also deals with many things that are not covered by the Transitional Act explaining that these new things were not covered in the Transitional Act because it was a temporary act.
The two pointed out that the ABG moved quickly to develop an interim mining law because it was worried about back door deals being made by unscrupulous outsiders and it also faced possible action of the National Government taking majority ownership of BCL.
They stated that the ABG is now satisfied that we have achieved what we wanted with the transitional Act and they are now very pleased to be able to move on to work hard to have a much more detailed, comprehensive and best practice law that meets Bougainville’s needs.
The ABG aims to finalize and pass the new mining Act late this year or early next year after public awareness and consultations have been made about the draft ‘Long Term’ Act which the ABG is committed to doing.

Ends  

http://hotcopper.com.au/threads/...761/?post_id=13867469#.U_vZghDzxa0

Mexican drug cartels have been diversifying into the iron ore business, smuggling ore worth about US$1bn a year into China. But it’s the emergence of a more legitimate cartel – one run largely by Australians – that would worry the country more.
Rio’s latest result shows how powerful the big three global producers have become. The company’s results for the six months to June 30, with underlying earnings rising 21% to US$5.1bn, are remarkable given that iron ore prices actually fell 20% over the period.
After slashing costs, capital expenditure and debt levels, management hinted at higher dividends and more buy backs. If the mining boom is supposed to be over, no one told Rio Tinto.
The really interesting element to the result concerned production increases. Although lower iron ore and coal prices stripped US$1.4bn from underlying earnings, volume increases, particularly in iron ore, offset that fall by over US$900m. All up, iron ore contributed over 90% of total profit.
With China slowing and the country’s government frantically shifting spending away from capital expenditure towards consumption, which dampens demand for ore, Rio Tinto and BHP are expanding output.
It sounds counter-intuitive but the move contains a deadly logic. Rio, BHP and Brazilian-owned Vale enjoy major costs advantages over almost every other producer. The greater their output, the more pain they inflict on the competition. If the big three can push the price of ore low enough, they can induce a global shakeout in the industry by forcing higher cost producers into bankruptcy.
After that, the Chinese become price takers – a prospect that must terrify them – and the big three will recover all the money and more they’re prepared to lose to control global output and prices.
As the fourth most common element in the earth’s crust, the world is not short of iron ore. The difficult (and more expensive) bit is getting it to the customer. That such an abundant mineral can be dominated by three miners reveals the true nature of this business – it’s about logistics, not mining.
Big cost advantages await those that can amortise large scale production across the huge costs of mining equipment, rail lines and ships involved in transporting ore. And as prices fall that advantage actually increases.
Rio can get a dry metric tonne of ore to China for about US$46 and still breakeven. Prices may have fallen to US$93 a tonne in the last six months but Rio is doing just fine. This year, the company should deliver a return on assets of 40-50%.
The world’s other big two producers can’t deliver ore as cheaply as Rio, but at US$53 and US$68 a tonne respectively, BHP and Vale are still making good money.
Both are also increasing production to push prices down further. Below US$70 a tonne a substantial portion of global iron ore output becomes uneconomic. The big three will still be making money but just about everyone else will be going out backwards.
Already, high cost iron ore production from the likes of Gindalbie Metals and Atlas Iron is being displaced by low cost output from the big three, a trend that will quicken if the iron ore price falls further.
In a development that’s a far bigger threat to China than anything a few Mexican drug lords can concoct, lower prices are helping the world’s big three iron ore producers tighten their grip on global supply.
In a few short years, Rio, BHP and Vale could dominate the global market for iron ore in much the same way as Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB rule local banking.
In 2010, big Chinese customers successfully lobbied against the proposed merger of Rio Tinto and BHP’s iron ore operations. It is no small irony that a slowing Chinese economy and weakening iron ore demand may leave them in a position as vulnerable as if the merger had taken place.  

Irgendwie gewinne ich immer mehr den Eindruck das dieser "Traum" bald platzen wird…..wenn man die Bilanz nach fast 7 Jahren Invest zieht und man sich die (m.E) kaum vorhandenen Perspektiven vor (realistischen) Augen führt…..naja….es sieht mit Verlaub gesagt besch***** aus.
Und dann…..diese ESBC…..hat meiner Meinung nach und unterm Strich, der Sache nur  Schaden zugefügt. Die Statements von Herrn Sturm sind mitunter absolut schwachsinnig und man kann nur hoffen dass ihn auf der anderen Seite keiner ernst nimmt.

Hoffe innigst mich zu irren da ich für meine Verhältnisse einiges an Erspartem drinne stecken habe.