Locals walk by buildings left abandoned by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto at the Panguna mine site. Photo: OCCRP / Aubrey Belford
A lawsuit, brought by 4,500 Bougainvilleans against multinational mining giant, Rio Tinto, is being bankrolled by a secretive group of investors hoping for a huge windfall.
The landowners, from around the long closed Panguna Mine, in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region, are seeking compensation for the damage the mine has caused.
The suit comes as Rio Tinto is helping to fund an assessment exercise to determine the social and environmental impact of the mine.
Investigative journalist with OCCRP, Aubrey Belford, has looked into the suit and he spoke with RNZ Pacific's senior journalist Don Wiseman.
