Bougainville Copper
Limited President Axel Strum has called on Papua New Guineas to change into the
‘Land of the Expected.’
In a statement to
European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper Limited, Sturm sought to calm their
nerves about short sellers using the current political situation in PNG.
Describing Papua New
Guinea Grand Chief Sir Michael as a ‘Stubborn old man’ and calling Deputy Prime
Minister Beldan Namah as irritating, he said;
“It has a new Prime
Minister (Peter O’Neil) elected by an overwhelming majority in Parliament while
an old stubborn Prime Minister (Sir Michael Somare) cannot accept being
ousted.”
“Unfortunately, the
new Prime Ministers Deputy (Belden Namah) contributes to this situation by
making irritating statements from time to time.
This fires foreign
investors confusion.”
Mr Sturm would like to
see the PNG/ABG increase its stake in BCL up to 25 percent. This commitment
would mean that European Shareholders will see better value for their share
portfolio as it signalled the Governments commitment to re-opening the mine and
paying some of the costs.
Panguna was the worlds
fourth largest copper mine in the months before it closed.
It produced 9 million
ounces of gold and 3 million tonnes of copper in 1972.
Rio Tinto owns around
54% of BCL. Recently it saw a slump of 59 percent last year. The re-opening of
Panguna would no doubt do wonders for its bottom line.
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