Bougainville might become the world’s newest nation, but at what cost?

Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald · Nov 10, 2026 · 29m

Can Bougainville build a viable future without repeating the mistakes of its past?

In 2027 Bougainville is seeking independence from Papua New Guinea. To fund it, they’re planning to reopen a mine that triggered a brutal civil war.

The Panguna mine is an enormous copper and gold deposit that bankrolled Papua New Guinea’s independence movement just over 50 years ago. It also irreparably transformed the local environment and extracted wealth from the local Bougainville people with crumbs in return.

Now, as Bougainville approaches its deadline for independence, Ishmael Toroama, the President of…