The President of Bougainville, Ishmael Torama, is keen to get the Panguna mine opened.
The mine, which was once the backbone of the Papua New Guinea economy, has now been shut for 32 years, after it helped spark the brutal civil war.
Mr Toroama has challenged the Panguna landowners to resolve their issues over the mine in order to support the region's march to independence.
Bougainville needs to find sources of income and Mr Toroama believes Panguna's re-opening is vital for this.
The Panguna copper and gold mine in Bougainville was closed down for operations in 1989 at the start of the civil war. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
He told this week's Panguna Chiefs Summit "if we are talking about a new Bougainville, we must re-set and refocus our priorities."
The summit is aiming to solve outstanding issues with Panguna.
The hope is a joint resolution will emerge from the summit which will trigger the next steps towards a possible re-opening of the mine.
Meanwhile last month the multi national mining concern Rio Tinto, which had owned the mine, sat down with Panguna landowners to discuss the destruction it caused.
It was the first meeting of the Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment Oversight Committee.
Last July Panguna communities, led by local MP Theonila Rota Matbob, and assisted by Australia's Human Rights Law Centre, filed a human rights complaint over the mine damage.
They said it had caused severe environmental damage and put lives and livelihoods at risk.
