Residents of the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have filed a class action suit in the U.S. against London-based
Rio Tinto rejected the allegations and said any litigation should be resolved in a Papua New Guinea court and not by lawyers chasing contingency fees, Reuters reports.
The suit was filed under the Alien and Tort Claims Act, which permits foreigners to file suit against companies alleged to have violated international laws. The islanders are being represented by the Seattle, Wash.-based firm Hagens Berman.
The suit alleges that the open-pit mine polluted rivers and a bay with tailings, affecting a major food source for the islanders. It also claims that military actions by the PNG army and a later blockade of the island led to civilian deaths.
Operations at Panguna began in 1972 and peaked at 300,000 tonnes per day. In 1988, the military was brought in to put down successionist unrest that eventually forced Rio Tinto’s 60%-owned operating subsidiary, Bougainville Copper, to close the mine.
Several attempts have been made to negotiate a settlement between the people of Bougainville and the government of PNG. All have failed, though the PNG government recently agreed to consider a proposal for a referendum to determine Bougainville’s future.
Earlier this year, Rio Tinto said it would consider selling its interest in Bougainville.
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