Public domain
Panguna Copper Deposit, Papua New Guinea
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The Panguna copper ore deposit was discovered in 1969 in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It has one of the largest reserves in the world, with 1 billion tons of copper and 12 million ounces of gold. In 1989 the then world's largest open pit copper-gold mine closed as a result of conflict between the mine owners and traditional land owners over the profits. The mine owners were also accused of poisoning the entire length of the Jaba River.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionCredit linePanguna Copper Deposit, Papua New Guinea. NASA/JPL, 2019-07-17. Public domain. ID: PIA23338.
