Addressing the 'toxic legacy' of mining in Bougainville

Theonila Roka Matbob grew up next to what was — at the time — the world's largest open-pit mine in Bougainville, an autonomous island in Papua New Guinea, operated by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. This mine wrought environmental and social devastation on the community of Panguna for decades. And many of these impacts carry on today, says Roka Matbob, who is an Indigenous Nasioi woman and politician.

With the help of Jubilee Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre, Roka Matbob was able to file a legal complaint with Australia's National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct. As a result, Rio Tinto signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bougainville government to remediate the impacts of this mine. For this legal achievement, Roka Matbob was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize. However, she is skeptical that remediation for these impacts will occur.

She joins the podcast this week to tell the Bougainville story and what she wants people to understand about mining's impacts on the autonomous region and her community.

" The Bougainville story is a result of Australia's political decision through Papua New Guinea government now implemented on Bougainville and leaving behind a toxic legacy that is already been kind of fenced out, not to have a forum to talk about," she says. "So my intention is for us to start telling this story."

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Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Banner image: Theonila Roka Matbob in Papua New Guinea's Autonomous Region of Bougainville in January 2026. Photo by Goldman Environmental Prize.

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Timecodes

(00:00) The Bougainville story

(12:11) Seeking justice

(22:38) Cleaning up a 'toxic legacy'