Traditional landowners are fighting back against plans to reopen an existing Bougainville copper mine which has remained dormant for nearly four decades.
During a public event on Bougainville Island last week a warning was declared against the companies who landowners say are illegally redeveloping the Panguna mine.
A public notice told Bougainville Copper Ltd in partnership with Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd to cease their "unauthorised entry and activities" and leave the site.
The Autonomous Bougainville Government has been encouraging complicit investors in the island's economy to accelerate its mining growth as the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea seeks independence prior to the end of the decade.
Bougainville Copper, an Australian Securities Exchange-listed company, has always been a long-time Panguna exploration licence-holder, while Lloyds was appointed by the Autonomous Region of Bougainville government last year as its preferred partner to redevelop one of the world's largest copper reserves.
The Panguna mine has not been operational since tensions from the Bougainville civil war escalated in 1989, forcing its closure.
The government believes the mine is the most productive way for Bougainville to become economically self-sufficient when goodwill from the PNG national parliament grants the autonomous region its independence.
While returning the mine to production is expected to take several years, efforts, by all accounts, are notably gaining pace.
Lloyds Metals has already moved machinery and equipment into the nearby Panguna mine area to conduct feasibility and exploration studies.
However, a group of landowners have decided the speed of mining activity is not addressing their own concerns.
Principal land and resource owners of the mine recently protested, calling on all parliamentarians of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville to come to their immediate aid.
The landowners requested personnel leave the site and equipment be removed.
"The failure to comply will result in us taking necessary actions to protect our Indigenous lands, resources and territories, in accordance with our Indigenous ownership rights, and relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea," the notice said.
A Panguna landowner, Moses Pipiro, who put his name to the notice, said it is paramount Indigenous people of Bougainville had to give their consent to the companies' work in the mine area.
"They already shipped their machinery up there, trucks and excavators - all these things," Mr Pipiro said.
"The problem is our government didn't consult and run the awareness to the resource owners in Panguna - that's the first thing.
"The second (thing) is we didn't know what sort of agreement has been made between our government and Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd."
However a local government leader has denied the claims, saying that the Autonomous Bougainville Government had previously offered consultations with the community over its proposal to return to copper mining.
Ioro constituency chairman Francis Nasia was steadfast in saying he was personally involved in facilitating consultation.
"Almost everybody got the got the information about how the Autonomous Bougainville Government intended to sign the Memorandum of Understanding - and how the Autonomous Bougainville Government intended to connect Lloyds with Bougainville Copper Ltd," Mr Nasia told local media.
"It was all clear. Those few people, who were signing this stop-work (notification) and all that, they have been attending the meetings, but they haven't been voicing their thoughts.
"They have been given time to talk."
Mr Nasia said he is convinced the bulk of residents in the Panguna area support the mine's redevelopment.
