definelty looks like a tough place to be a worker..No mention of Megas tho.
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/panguna-locals-want-png-mine-to-reopen-20100514-v47f.html
Panguna locals want PNG mine to reopen ILYA GRIDNEFF
May 14, 2010
Villagers who shut down an Australian-run gold and copper mine in PNG's autonomous region of Bougainville during a violent civil war now want to reopen the mine.
Bougainvilleans are now voting in their second general elections to decide who will prepare the tiny Pacific island for a promised 2015 referendum on full independence from Papua New Guinea.
The massive Panguna mine in central Bougainville was what sparked the bloody decade-long guerilla war that claimed an estimated 20,000 lives. The islanders now think their secessionist future might depend on the revenue it can generate.
Bougainville President James Tanis told AAP moves were now under way to review the mine agreement.
"Panguna is owned by the Panguna landowners, but people from all over Bougainville have died over that mine, so culturally that mine is now owned by the people of Bougainville," he said.
"There has been a growing opinion, even coming from Panguna landowners, with a basic argument saying that the bottom line for people of Bougainville is independence.
"If this mine funded PNG independence (in 1975) then it can fund Bougainville autonomy and independence," he said.
Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) executive Paul Coleman travelled to Bougainville last year for the first time since the mine's closure for talks with President Tanis in Buka.
BCL, which is owned 53 per cent by Rio Tinto and 19 per cent by the PNG government, reported millions of tonnes of gold and copper remained in the ground at the disused mine.
Panguna Landowners Association Chairman Chris Damana - an election hopeful - said mining at was once the world's largest gold and copper mine could resume only if there was a full review of conditions for locals.
"My platform for the election is for me to represent my people of Panguna and to reopen the mine," he said.
"We want to open the mine because Bougainville needs economic development in order for Bougainville to generate independence," he said.
"But there must be a full review of the agreement. Bougainville has to benefit, not just the mining company," he said.
"We are not divided as landowners. We just want to work out how reopening will be done," he said.
Another positive sign is that the Meekamui Defence Force (MDF), headed by self-appointed general Chris Uma, has lifted a heavily armed no-go zone around the Panguna mine.
General Uma, who controlled separatist militias throughout Bougainville's central and southern regions, has made an unprecedented move to support President Tanis in the current election.
© 2010 AAP
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
