Rio Tinto’s abandoned Panguna copper mine in Bougainville continues to generate toxic waste and could spark deadly landslides and cause lasting ecological damage, a report has found.
The report adds to mounting pressure on Rio Tinto to take responsibility for the legacy of the mine, which it abandoned in 1989 after a dispute over revenue-sharing – along with labour and environmental practices – sparked Bougainville’s civil war with Papua New Guinea.
