GOVERNMENT REJECTS PROSPECTING LICENCE OVER ISABEL NICKEL DEPOSITS
Posted Wed, 2011-04-27 09:08 by George Herming
The Government of Solomon Islands today unequivocally rejected claims and validity of a Prospecting Licence being issued to Axiom KB over the nickel and cobalt deposits on Isabel.
Honiara was reacting to a media statement issued by the company to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on April 21 this year. Company shares rose some 70 per cent during the months of March and April.
In a statement today, the Government said the circumstances under which a former Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification issued both the Letter of Intent on 12 April and a Prospecting Licence three days later on 15th April this year was highly suspicious.
?This is more so when the Prospecting Licence was issued on the eve of his dismissal,? the statement said.
?Prospecting Licence, according to the Mines and Minerals Act, is normally issued within three months of the issuance of the Letter of Intent (LOI). The purpose for such a legal provision is to ensure that the applicant would need time to successfully negotiate a Land Access Agreement with landowners,? it said.
?Unfortunately, this has not been the way the minister had dealt with Axiom. If anything, it raised more questions than answers.?
In its statement today, the Government said it is aware that the Mines and Minerals Board had come under tremendous pressure from the Minister only days before he issued both the Letter of Intent (LOI) and the Prospecting Licence before his sacking.
The statement said Prime Minister Danny Philip is extremely concerned over the matter. He promises to consult with all the stakeholders, including the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, Hon Moses Garu, the Chairman of the Mines and Minerals Board, Peter Auga, the landowners of San Jorge, Takata and Jejevo, the MP for Gao/Bogutu Constituency, Paramount Chiefs and other tribal chiefs and the Premier of Isabel Province.
?If there were irregularities in the way the former Minister handled the nickel issue, it means that every arrangement the former Minister did in the issuance of the letter of Intent as well as the Prospecting Licence will be suspended pending an investigation into the matter.
?All Letters of Intent or Licences issued shall be deemed suspended until further notice,? the statement said.
It said the nickel resources on Isabel belong to the landowners and it is only prudent that the Government identify the true and bona fide customary landowners.
The way Axiom dealt with so-called landowners by inviting certain people whose status had been nullified through successive legal cases in both Customary Land Dispute Tribunals as well as the High Court was unhelpful.
?The number of inappropriate dealings by various interested companies with these so-called landowners was also a source of concern. Court documents obtained from the High Court of Solomon Islands clearly indicated that certain parties who lost the land litigations had been supporting the Axiom deal and had actually been appointed to the Mines and Minerals Board,? the statement said.
?These are damning revelations and must be rectified and dealt with appropriately as soon as possible. The Government will,? it said.
?Given the importance of the nickel and cobalt resources on Isabel, the government will do everything it possibly can to purge the matter from all forms of irregularities and those responsible will be dealt with mercilessly,? the statement said.
?As a government we cannot afford to be bystanders when our people?s resources have been speculated upon. That would be grossly irresponsible.?
The statement said if the situation was proven or circumstantially seen to be riddled with corrupt practices and irregularities, the Government would have no option but to scrap the old page and start all over again.
?Mineral resources whether in Solomon Islands or anywhere in the world are non-renewable, meaning that such resources can only be exploited once, not twice.
?The extraction of these resources must therefore be carefully negotiated to get the best deal possible for the development and growth of the country, achieve greater development aspirations of the resource owners, the Provincial Government of Isabel and the Chiefs and elders of the communities in San Jorge, Takata and Jejevo,? the statement said.
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