The two companies keen to restart mining at Bougainville's Panguna mine continue to dispute which of them has the backing of the relevant landowners group.
Australian company RTG says the man they have been working with, Philip Miriori, has been confirmed as the chairman of the Special Mining Lease Osikiang Landowners Association.
The association owns the land around the Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea's Bougainville.
The company's rivals in the race to run Panguna, Bougainville Copper Ltd, says the landowner issues are still not fully resolved with further mediation next month to seek the views of the wider membership of the SMLOLA.
But the RTG chairman Michael Carrick says his company is a far better option for the Panguna development than BCL.
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Panguna mine site Photo: supplied