Police arrest one over alleged damages
By EDDIE OSIFELO
GUADALCANAL police have arrested one male person in relation to the damage of Win Win Mining Investment Limited properties at Turarana on Wednesday 22 December 2021.
Police Media confirmed yesterday the suspect is in police custody while investigation continues to ascertain the facts behind the incident.
A outspoken landowner on the area, Joel Jackson confirmed that he is not aware that “landowners damaged the Win Win office on the area”.
However, Jackson said the landowners staged a road block and stoned the vehicles of the company after it failed to pay their royalties.
He said after the incident, the company agreed to solve the matter “very quickly”.
Win Win company yesterday said they “decided not to dwell on the matter because of continuous publicity against the company in the media”.
The company started the trial alluvial mining operation in July 2019.
The trial mining commenced at the Mamasa alluvial flat deposit but was later shifted upstream to the Turarana Area (Kavahambe) after very low gold recoveries (0.15g/cubic meter(cu.m)) were experienced at the Mamasa alluvial flats deposit which is well below break even levels.
After heavy floods that left the Turarana wash plant inundated in October 2019; alluvial mining operations were shifted back to the Mamasa area in November, 2019 while reconstruction of the Turarana wash plant was progressing.
Mining operations were shifted back again to the Turarana wash plant in December 2019 due to improved gold recoveries experienced there.
Up to present time only the Turarana wash plant is currently being worked.
According to the Win Win’s monthly report produced on 10th July 2021 by contracted Geologist, Collin Midobatu, the company has exported a total of 3,258.47 ounce of gold from its last 6th shipment from January to June 2021.
This is worth around $48 million (USD$6million) base on the market prize of US$1,853.00 per ounce.
The export of gold shipment came from its operation at Turarana in Central Guadalcanal.
However, the company could not make any gold shipment from July 2019 to December 2020 as stated in the monthly report released on 10th July 2021.
In December 2020, armed men dressed as police officers entered the company’s premises at Turarana and got away with one gold bar weighing 3 kilograms, one gold bar weighing 1.7 kilograms which is yet to be properly cleaned, $140,000 cash and 15 mobile phones.
Police later arrested seven men in connection to the robbery.
Win Win recently took over Solomon Islands Resources Company Limited (SIRCL), a company that has secured a tenement to do nickel mining in Isabel Province.
Under a new company called, Go Win Company, it is moving to Isabel. However, landowners there have expressed their objection to the company operating on their land.
