Pressemitteilungen 2014

19.08.2014
ESBC press release 20140819

Thunderstorm on Bougainville

The new Bougainville mining law has to be considered as an arbitrary expropriation of Bougainville Copper’s shareholders by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and Panguna landowners.

Therefore the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper Limited (ESBC) claim that they have to be recompensed for the financial losses the investors bore during the last 25 years.

Furthermore the ESBC claims that they have to receive an adequate indemnity for wilful destruction of BCL’s   mine site by local unlawful elements. The ESBC also claim to be recompensed on future revenues from the Panguna  mine as the current mining leases  are expected to expire in about 20 years.

The European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) urge Rio Tinto as major shareholder of Bougainville Copper Limited to take further legal action to safeguard the shareholder’s interest.

The ESBC claim amount to a total of USD 24 billion (PGK  58 billion). The defendants to be sued in this law suit should be the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the local landowners of the BCL leases, Philipp Miriori as representative of self-appointed  Me'ekamui Government of Unity on Bougainville, the other Me’ekamui organization branches, and former Bougainville Revolutionary Army leaders such as Sam Kauona, Chris Uma and others as well.