The President of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville has elaborated on why his government is saying no to mining at Panguna for the foresseable future.
Panguna was the site of the Bougainville Copper Ltd mine which was at the crux of the ten year long civil war.
In recent years there has been a push to have it re-opened to help drive the Bougainville economy forward.
Two companies, Bougainville Copper Ltd and RTG have been battling for the rights to mine Panguna but last week the government announced an indefinite moratorium on mining there.
Don Wiseman asked Bougainville President John Momis why they had taken such action.
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Panguna mine site Photo: supplied