How much ground to be carried away from Isabel: Cathy Nori
BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Member of Parliament for Maringe/Kokota constituency Cathy Nori has questioned the ongoing mining operation at San Jorge, Isabel province.
Nori questioned the Permanent Secretary Dr. Christopher Vehe for the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Rural Electrification at the Public Account Committee hearing, supplementary appropriate bill 2024.
Nori asked the Permanent Secretary (PS) to provide an update regarding the ongoing loads of soil from the two mining sites in Isabel province conducted at the Kolosori and Suma in the Bugotu area.
“So much talk about the mining happening in San Jorge Island in Isabel and we keep seeing loads of soil carried away by these ships. Are they still looking for nickel, what is happening and how much ground would they have to carry away from Isabel,’’ Nori questioned.
“I am just curious,’’ she said.
In response, PS Vehe said that two mining licenses permit two companies to operate in Isabel province.
He said that the two mining companies developing two Nickel projects in Isabel are Solomon Islands Resources Company Ltd and Pacific Nickel Mining Ltd.
“To simply answer your question for Maringe Kokota, yes there are two mining licenses issued for Isabel Nickle. One is for the Kolosori mine site and the other is for the Suma mine site. These are all nickel projects, both companies are still in operation despite issues,’’ said Vehe.
He assured the Minister that the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Rural Electrification is monitoring the ongoing developments.
“We keep on monitoring the development. We have our staff visiting the site regularly though we faced some challenges at times because of weather. But yes, we keep on monitoring the projects,’’ he said.
PS Vehe also told the public account committee that royal from the shipment was already made to CBSI for the landowners.
“There already some form of royalties from the shipments with CBSI that needs to be dispersed to the people. But there is no confirmation yet from the people themselves as to how they would share the cake amongst themselves,’’ he said.
So far there are six shipments of nickel from Isabel province made last year according to media reports.
It is reported that the shipments were from Kolosori and Suma Mining tenements, with three shipments from each, owned by Pacific Nickle and Solomon Islands Resources Company Ltd respectively.
