Based on an orebody estimated at 900 million lt of 0. 48% copper and 0. 36 dwt (0. 018 tr oz) of gold a ton, Bougainville Copper Pty. Ltd. sprang to life on a grand scale a little over a year ago. Paper contains a monographic description of the Austr. 400-million project inclusive of the geology of the deposit, mining factsheet and layout of first year production on pit designed to produce 90,000 tpd of ore with the waste/ore ratio of 0. 68. Characteristic data of open pit design and of major earthmoving equipment used is given. Flowsheet of the concentrator is shown and factsheet for concentrate handling and pipeline statistics is included.