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MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The first hearing date has been set in a class action against miner Rio Tinto for historical environmental and social damage caused by the Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea that it operated in the 1970s and 1980s, lawyers said.
The first court hearing will take place in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby on Oct. 10, according to lawyers representing the claimants.
"We are committed to advancing the action against Rio Tinto and BCL on behalf of the class," said Matthew Mennilli, partner at Sydney-based law firm Morris Mennilli in a statement. "We hope to empower claimants after their voices were unheard and ignored for so many years."
BCL, or Bougainville Copper Ltd, ran the Panguna mine in which Rio Tinto held a majority stake. The mine ceased operations in 1989 when related disputes spiralled into a civil war lasting for a decade.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson confirmed that it had been served with a class action and that it was reviewing the details of the claim. "As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to comment further at this time," he said.
Rio Tinto in 2016 transferred its 53.8% stake in BCL to the Autonomous Bougainville government and the Papua New Guinea government for no amount.
The miner in 2022 began work to assess the mine's legacy, hiring an independent group to assess the impact and consult on next steps. It is due to report back to Rio this year.
Class actions are increasingly being used by affected populations as a way to access higher compensation from resources companies for damaging events.
More than 720,000 Brazilians, including 46 local governments, are suing BHP and Vale in a potential 36 billion pound ($46.5 billion) lawsuit over the 2015 collapse of the Mariana dam.
The class action against Rio Tinto is much smaller. It is made up of a majority of villagers in the affected region of Bougainville. A further 1,500 people have joined the class action since it was filed with 3,000 claimants in May.
They are seeking compensation for "historical mismanagement of the Panguna Copper Mine, which caused large scale environmental and social harm," according to the statement.
($1 = 0.7738 pounds)
(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Jamie Freed)
