By EDDIE OSIFELO
THE landowning tribes on tenement D in Bugotu, Isabel Province, have refused to sign the Surface Access Agreement with Solomon Islands Resources Company Limited to carry out nickel prospecting on their land.
This was after Director of SIRCL, Charles Meke said SIRCL has signed a Surface Access Agreement with landowners of Tenement D and Tenement E after number of consultations were held with them.
SIRCL also held a Prospecting License over Suma tenement after it signed SAA with the landowners.
Hong Kong based New Origin owned SIRCL and New Asia, however it sold it to another Hong Kong company, Hangzhou Gowin Mineral Product Ltd.
As such Hangzhou Gowen Mineral Product automatically owns SIRCL and operator, New Asia after it bought the 100 percent shares from New Origin.
One of the landowners of Tenement D, Jay Fraction said the first original SIRC had given 6 months to negotiate its SAA with Tenement land owners, but was unsuccessful.
Fraction said later SIRC Management sold off their companies’ shares to Hangzhou that also owns the controversial Win Win Mining Investment company currently operating at Turarana in Central Guadalcanal at Turarana that has a bad reputation been outlined in media.
He said the SIRC Hangzhou took over, however reapplied for another three-month extension on its Letter of intent.
“The mineral Board rejected the application for the extension because the land owners of tenement D does not want or even supported SIRC.
“There was no public meeting held on villages or even to call for land owners to meet, none of this requirement was done,” he said.
Fraction said most of the landowners of Tenement D do not support new administration of SIRCL and do not want to sign the SAA.
He said few landowners on tenement D signed with the former SIRC during the past Letter of Intent , but the land trustee refused to sign SAA with the new administration of SIRCL.
Furthermore, Fraction said landowners were also surprise that even the SIRCL Letter of Intent expired on Friday 17th December 2021, the company still insists and forced land owners to sign their SAA.
He said the SIRC still continue to contact the landowner to sign the SAA on Monday 20th December.
Fraction said this is a clear corrupt company which the Ministry of Mines officers’ officer should aware of such unlawful and un procedural process and should had been inform the company reps regarding it.
“Due to such attitude we landowners don’t have confident on the authority supervising such programs.
“Also, the landowner fears that this would result in forgery in land trustee’s signature,” he added.
Fraction said the company must respect their tribes concern , and not individual’s tribe member’s interest.
“We the land trustees and landowners’ owners of tenement D call on the Director of Mines to verify the signatories; with land trustees which had been appointed by our tribes.
“Tenement D land trustees fully aware that most of land trustee and landowners did not sign on SIRC SAA or supported SIRC Company,” he said.
Fraction said the landowners call on the government with responsible Authority to respect the landowners right and their freedom of choice on which company they prefer.
“We all want developments and our economy need to be raised ,but we need genuine investors who understand our culture and also investors who interested in long term development plans not only for the purpose of mining alone,” he added.
