Joint consultations on the future of Bougainville trigger speculation on the future of Panguna mine

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A joint communique issued earlier this month by Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape and new Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama has committed them to moderated ‘joint consultations’ over the autonomous region’s desired independence. It has again brought focus on the future of the island’s massive Panguna copper and gold mine.