‘Hope for new chapter’: Rio Tinto vows to assess abandoned mine pollution We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Normal text size Advertisement Rio Tinto has reached a deal with Bougainville residents to fund an investigation into the legacy of potential environmental damage and human rights violations left by an abandoned copper mine on the island. The Anglo-Australian mining giant has not accessed Bougainville’s Panguna mine since it was forced to suspend operations amid the outbreak of a civil war in 1989, and eventually divested its holding in 2016. But over the past year a group of 156 Bougainville residents has been appealing for Rio to assess the impact of millions of tonnes of leftover waste they say have poisoned local water sources and assist with the long-term clean-up.