Overview
- Armed men entered the Panguna site and set fire to rows of heavy haul trucks and other machinery over the weekend of Sept. 12–13, destroying equipment in social media images and local reports.
- The destroyed machinery is reported to belong to Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited, the developer chosen by the Autonomous Bougainville Government to carry out feasibility and exploration work for a possible mine reopening.
- President Ishmael Toroama condemned the attack as 'terroristic acts of violence', said those responsible will face the full force of the law, and ordered the Bougainville Police Service and community leaders to hunt suspects.
- Authorities and community leaders say the incident raises immediate security concerns at the site and could delay or complicate planned rehabilitation and exploration activities.
- Panguna was closed after the 1989 conflict over environmental damage and revenue sharing, and the mine's contested legacy and local landowner grievances make any restart politically sensitive and likely to affect residents' lives.