ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the development of the Bougainville mine, and analyses its impact on the economy, society and politics of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea consists of the eastern portion of the island of New Guinea and some 600 smaller islands, a total land area of 463,000 square kilometres. In 1973 Papua New Guinea was granted self-government and in 1975 it became independent. A Westminster-style parliamentary system was established, and this has since been modified by the creation of a system of provincial governments. Papua New Guinea’s economy is predominantly agricultural; subsistence agriculture engages from 60 to 70 per cent of its 3.0 million inhabitants, while over 50 per cent of its 200,000 wage earners are engaged in primary industry. Given Papua New Guinea’s economic circumstances, large-scale mineral development offered perhaps the best prospect of achieving both. The discovery of the Panguna prospect was consequently a heartening development for the Administration.
