-Number of police officers in security operation at Gold Ridge mine accused of stealing ore
-‘At end of shift they would return with rice bags filled with high-grade soil and pan them’
BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Police officers in an ongoing security operation at Gold Ridge are taking out high mineral content soil and selling gold they pan from this soil, it is reported.
Police officers from this security operation who witnessed the above activity, spilled the beans to Island Sun describing the action by their colleagues as tantamount to stealing Gold Ridge property.
Gold Ridge management said they are not aware of this allegation.
Police have also chosen to remain silent.
It is understood the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) provides security support to the Gold Ridge mine under an agreement between the two entities.
RSIPF officers deployed in this operation are from the elite police response team (PRT), central response unit (CRU), Central police station, frontline, Henderson station, Kukum traffic station and White River station.
“After their shift, our colleague police officers involved in this stealing activity brought back bags laden with high-grade soil and panned them. They then sold the gold they got from panning these ores,” the police officers told Island Sun.
“They make big money out of this activity and buy properties such as cars, some slowly build their houses. One officer came back with three 10kg rice bags filled with the soil and got $75,000 from the gold he panned,” the officers said.
The officers told Island Sun that this action is stealing because any soil with commercial value within the mining tenement belongs to the Gold Ridge company.
“Although it may seem like a small, minor action to take away bags of this soil, it is still illegal and the last people who should be doing such are police officers. This goes against our constitutional duties and responsibilities,” they said.
Walton Naezon, chairman of Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) said he was not aware of these allegations.
“I am not aware of this alleged activity. It was a rumour and as a chairman of Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) and Gold Ridge Community Investment Limited (GCIL), the landowner company that owns a stake in the mine, I deny that,” Mr Naezon said in an interview on June 18, 2025.
He said RSIPF has an agreement with GRML to provide safety at GRML site and ensure that employees, landowners and nearby residents respect the GRML operation as it is a national project.
“In terms of the RSIPF security operation, we, the GRML, have an agreement with them. This agreement would lapse at the end of this month (June). It was started two months ago,” said Neazon.
“The agreement is to ensure that there is no illegal mining operation, illegal gold buyers who have no license, reduced anti-social behaviours and illegal selling of alcohol in the GRML premises. More importantly to ensure the GRML working environment is safe for every party and we must know that it is a government national project, for this reason, we came up with this agreement,” he said.
Island Sun understands that the operation has not ended.
Meanwhile, a senior officer within the RSIPF who wishes to remain anonymous, said in an interview last month that it would be wrong for the RSIPF to be involved in such a security operation without proper agreements and arrangements.
“What I understand is that the RSIPF previously had an MOU with the St Barbara Gold Ridge mining company. We have an MOU with them under our previous management, but not under the current RSIPF Management.
“From what I heard, officers are paid to provide security operations, which is illegal. RSIPF has a policy against “secondary employment ” that prohibits police officers not to have other jobs apart from their current job.
“So, this means that these officers have breached this policy and they should have been terminated,” said the officer.
The officer said that this issue has been going on for quite some time now.
“Pay per day per head for the officers was $300. I know this information from interacting with officers,” the senior RSIPF officer said.
RSIPF has not responded to enquiry emails sent through its media unit for a month.
For feedback, contact:[email protected]
