Bougainville Copper shares jump on independence vote

Bougainville Copper

26/11/2019 01:26

By Jonathan Barrett
    SYDNEY, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Shares in Bougainville Copper Ltd
 BOC.AX , the former operator of the giant Panguna gold and
copper mine that was shut by civil war, have surged in recent
days as an independence vote on the island raises expectations
of a possible restart to mining.
    The value of BCL shares has tripled since early last week to
trade at A$0.35 on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of a
non-binding independence referendum in Papua New Guinea's region
of Bougainville, which has kicked off in a peaceful atmosphere.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N28300G
    The referendum, which runs until Dec. 7, is a key part of a
peace agreement reached in the aftermath of a decade-long war
between Bougainville's rebel fighters and Papua New Guinea
forces that ended in 1998 and took about 20,000 lives.
    BCL's general manager Mark Hitchcock said in a statement to
Reuters he believed the investor interest in the company
reflected increased levels of confidence in Bougainville's
future.
    Formerly controlled by Rio Tinto  RIO.AX , BCL now counts
the PNG government and Autonomous Bougainville Government as
major shareholders. 
    It is one of at least two companies, alongside a group
including explorer RTG  RTG.TO   RTG.AX , that claims the rights
to develop Panguna, with the dispute currently being tested in
the PNG courts.
    The fighting was triggered by disputes over the now
shuttered Panguna project, set off by anger over land royalties
and rivers polluted by mining.  

 (Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; editing by Richard
Pullin)
 ((Jonathan.Barrett@thomsonreuters.com;))