Mining in Bougainville

The first European to discover the Solomon island of Bougainville was the French explorer Louis Antoin de Bougainville who reached the island in July 1768. This discovery then lead to the worst for the innocent islanders through mining and relegation.

According to R.J. Cornelius, gold and copper mineralisation  was known on the island as far back as the pre-1914 German days. But proven traces were known in the 1920s through copper specimens discovered on [transported cargo from Kieta] identified in PNG's Rabaul town.

Panguna Pit

In 1929, a Jack Comb from Kekereka Plantation (now Arawa) prospected up the Bovong River and discovered gold at the Kupe Village and the site on the Crown Prince Range, was proclaimed as Kupe Goldfield on May 1930. In December 1932, Tapuu Reward Claim (Moroni Village) was pegged by C. W. M Evans after prospecting up the Tumpusiong Valley from the West Coast followed on by the Pangki'rangku (mine pit today) Reward Claim in February 1934 to G.A. Myers.

In the same year, 1934, a Roman Catholic Bishop of Brisbane, Dr Duhig established mining operations at Kupe. In 1936, a hydrologist Richard Alexander MacLellan managed the project with cheap labourers from Kieta and South Bougainville who were often paid with tabacco tins.

To its closure due to the Japanese invasion in WW2, the operation did produced 1789 ounces of gold and 80 ounces of silver for the Catholics in Brisbane.

Kupe Village, today. The mine is still mined today where the cloud line is visible

Earlier on, though, Kupe Goldfield was transfered to Bougainville Gold Options NL and later to Jack Comb and then the Bougainville Syndicate as did  Pangki'rangku and Moroni Claims. This, according to Kupe's oral records were partners to the Bishop Dr Duhig.

In 1935, geologist N.H. Fisher who later became the director of Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources, reported the 3 mineralisation sites in Australia thus prompting further interest in the later years.

CRA geologist, Ken Philips followed these records, and tracked up the Kupe Village and entered the Panguna area in the 1960s and born was Bougainville Copper Limited to the disadvantage of the Bougainville islanders.


Sources: http://www.onemine.org/ and http://www.pngbuai.com/ and stories from Kupe Village in Central Bougainville