The Paguna mine has had a long history for Rio Tinto and Papua New Guinea. The project was negotiated in 1960 by Rio Tinto in conjunction with the Australian Government with loose environmental and mine site rehabilitation regulations. In the 1970s and 1980s Rio Tinto generated almost $2Billion in revenue from the mine, at the time one of the largest copper and gold mines in Australia. However the 1989 decade long Bougainville Crisis stalled any progress that was made.

Dr. Francesca Dominello joined us earlier on this issue.