By Anthony Kaybing

The Autonomous Bougainville Government has made an historic announcement on the lifting of the Mining and Exploration Moratorium on Bougainville.

ABG President Chief Dr John Momis made the announcement on Friday, April 28, 2017 after the Bougainville Executive Council carefully considered the implications of developing the government's capacity to manage exploration applications, as well as the needs of the people of Bougainville.

This allows for applications in the areas of Tore, Isina and Jaba only, places which have large ore deposits, but does not include Panguna.

Since the development of the Panguna Mine more than 40 years ago the rest of Bougainville has been covered by the moratorium until the announcement was made.

In 2006 the ABG requested the National Government that the mining, oil and gas powers and functions be drawn down and given priority.

In 2008 both the ABG and the National Government signed the Alotau MOU that established the road map for the transfer of the mining, oil and gas powers and functions from the National Government to the ABG.

Although the process was slow the ABG enacted its own Mining Act in 2015 and this paved the way for the ABG to regulate its own mining sector.

“The Bougainville Constitution and the Bougainville Mining Act 2015 clearly define the people as the owners of all the minerals found in Bougainville,” President Momis said.

“It is significantly important that the people’s consent must be given before any mine is developed under the Mining Act,” Momis said.

Momis also added that the Bougainville Mining Act gives the ABG the opportunity to preserve and reserve certain areas in Bougainville from mineral exploration and mining to strategically harvest mineral resources for the current and future generations.

The Bougainville Executive Council has the final authority to grant mining licenses in Bougainville and in this way it will scrutinise every would-be investor well to ensure only genuine investments in Bougainville before a license is granted.

“We have learnt our lessons from the Panguna experience and now we have the opportunity to do a better job this time,” President Momis said.

“On behalf of the people of Bougainville I invite and welcome applications from prospective applicants to invest in our mining sector; Bougainville is open for business and I look forward to the development of long term economic partnerships to allow Bougainville to fulfil the economic potential she rightly deserves,” he added.

The Bougainville Mining Registrar will start accepting applications from 10am Bougainville Standard Time, Tuesday 9 May 2017.

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