Bougainville Copper Limited is a mining company of Papua New Guinea that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. BCL operated the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island, extracting copper, gold and silver from 1971 to 15 May 1989, when mining operations were officially halted due to militant activity. The mine has remained closed since then. Mining giant Rio Tinto Group, which was historically Bougainville Copper Limited's major shareholder, exited on 30 June 2016 when it transferred its 53.8 per cent shareholding for distribution to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea's shareholding was subsequently transferred to the Autonomous Bougainville Government, which as of January 2026 controls approximately 72.9% of BCL. BCL is now in active discussions with the Autonomous Bougainville Government and Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd to progress works under its EL01 exploration licence with a view to reopening the Panguna mine. Wikipedia