Assessing Legacy Impacts from the Former Panguna Mine in Bougainville

Challenge

The former Panguna Mine in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, has left a complex legacy of environmental degradation, social impacts, and human rights concerns since operations ceased in 1989. Communities living downstream of the mine continue to face risks from mine-generated waste, erosion, and changes to river systems, as well as long-standing social and cultural impacts. The Panguna Legacy Oversight Committee—representing local communities, the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the Government of Papua New Guinea, Rio Tinto Limited, and civil society—required an independent, evidence-based assessment to understand the scale and severity of these legacy issues and to inform future decision-making.

Solution

Tetra Tech Coffey was engaged as the independent contractor to deliver Phase 1 of the Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment. Using our Leading with Science® approach, multidisciplinary teams from Australia, Port Moresby, and Bougainville collaborated with international subject-matter experts to undertake detailed environmental, social, and human rights investigations. Over three years, we applied rigorous scientific methods, spatial data analysis, and extensive field research to document and assess actual and potential impacts.

Community engagement was central to our approach. We worked closely with local leaders and community members through surveys, workshops, and five Tok Pisin briefing sessions to ensure local perspectives shaped the assessment. The Phase 1 Final Report – publicly released in December 2024 – represents the largest study of its kind in Bougainville and provides recommendations for addressing human rights impacts and priority areas for further investigation.