Reopening the

suspended

Bougainville

Copper Limited (BCE) mine would cost up to $1 billion.

It would also take three years, the company told a feder al parliamentary inquiry in Melbourne mid-April.

BCE executive director Peter Taylor made the comments to the committee inquiring into the Bougainville peace process.

He said that a lot of the mine’s property was believed to have deteriorated or been destroyed since operations stopped there in 1989.

“We have stated somewhere between half (a billion) and a billion dollars (would be neces sary to restart the mine),” Taylor said.

But BCE had been denied access to the mine since 1990.

It says it was therefore unable to assess the state of its infra structure.

He said the estimated time of re-establishing the mine was three years.

“There is a lot to be done,” he told the joint standing commit tee on foreign affairs, defence and trade.

The mine was Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) first major min ing project and had an annual production of 166,000 tonnes of copper and 450,000 ounces of gold a year when it closed.

It employed 3,000 PNG citi zens and 600 overseas employ ees, but now employs no-one, BCE’s written submission to the

inquiry stated.

Mining giant Rio Tinto owns 53,6 per cent of BCE, the PNG government 19.1 per cent and the public 27.3 per cent.

Many PNG citizens, including Bougainville citizens, owned shares in the company, the sub

Reopening Bougainville mine would cost up to $1 billion: BCL

mission stated. The company was conscious of the potential for it to affect the peace process with any

statement or action on that it may make on Bougainville.

BGL says it would not take

action thought to be detrimental, its written submission stated.

(Aap) ■

The-Bougainville mine was Papua New Guinea's (PNG) first major min ing project and had an annual production of 166,000 tonnes of copper and 450,000 ounces of gold a year when it closed