The Bougainville government has condemned an arson attack at a property of a foreign mining company, which the autonomous region's president appointed to reopen a dormant mine.
Armed men are alleged to have entered the Panguna mine, setting fire to heavy haul trucks and other equipment belonging to Indian miner, Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited.
Bougainville president Ishmael Toroama spoke out against the actions of the assailants, who were also alleged to have assaulted the company's personnel.
Mr Toroama said the region, which is seeking full independence from Papua New Guinea, will not be intimidated by people intending to undermine the redevelopment of Bougainville's only large-scale mine production - left idle since 1989.
"The actions of these individuals are selfish and serve only their own greedy intent," he said.
"They do not have the best interests of our government or our people at heart.
"This type of behaviour has no place in Bougainville and will not be tolerated."
Bougainville police say a group of civilians from Buin in the region's South district invaded the mine site with the use of high-powered weapons.
After an ensuing shootout on Sunday in which at least one of the men was killed, police reportedly arrested several suspects.
The attack was suspected to have occurred over the selection process of Lloyds Metals and Energy. A recent investigation found the Indian company lacked a background in copper and gold mining in contrast to the greater technical and financial capacity of a bidding rival.
Mr Torama opted to bypass a government tender process while asking its mine operators, Bougainville Copper Limited, to discontinue discussions with China Molybdenum over assessing the future rehabilitation of the mine reopening.
An Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting project last month also found that the President accepted Lloyds offer to cover the cost of his wife's life-saving kidney surgery before signing the deal.
A defiant Mr Toroama said the incident will only strengthen the resolve "to enforce the government's mandate to reopen the Panguna mine".
"We will not cower to terroristic acts of violence designed to cause disunity and distract us from our agenda of creating a socio-politically and economically viable Bougainville," he said.
The violent vandalism prompted a PNG minister to repeatedly claim that he warned Lloyds not to invest in Bougainville "knowing it was highly volatile due to numerous factions and the environment was not conducive for investment".
"I feared the very outcome that has now transpired," Minister for Trade Richard Maru said.
"Despite my advice, the company took a decision to invest in Panguna and it must now accept full responsibility for what has happened.
"They took it upon themselves not to heed national government advice."
The Panguna Landowners Interim Council, a representative body for five customary landowning clans connected with the Panguna area, which has taken a cautious outlook to mining returning, has also distanced its authority from the incident.
"The legitimate interests of the Panguna landowners must not be confused with the actions of individuals who choose to break the law," council chairman Samson Kaissy said.
"Our customary land ownership carries with it a responsibility to protect the integrity of the land, the people and the future development of Panguna."
