Cases / Waste management · Papua New Guinea · date not stated
Panguna mine waste on Bougainville exceeds 1 billion tonnes, with no clean-up
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
An independent assessment reported more than 1 billion tonnes of waste from the Panguna mine on Bougainville, with no clean-up. The sources reviewed give no measurements of land or water effects.
What?
More than 1 billion tonnes of mine waste remain at the Panguna mine, with no clean-up reported. Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC)
Where?
Panguna mine, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC)
When?
Assessment published February 2025 Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC)
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Mine waste with no clean-up reported. Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC)
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
The Human Rights Law Centre reported in February 2025 that waste from the Panguna mine on Bougainville exceeds 1 billion tonnes.
The same assessment reported that the waste has not been cleaned up.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Who gained from the mine, and who bears the waste, is not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Not measured Effects on land, rivers and communities are not measured in the sources reviewed.
- None on record Who is responsible for any clean-up is not stated.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Communities and civil society
- First results from an independent human rights and environmental impact assessment of the Panguna mineHuman Rights Law Centre (HRLC) · Feb 2025