The Keohoto Landowners Association (KLA) has reaffirmed its collective decision to withhold consent from Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) for any future prospecting activities over Mt. Vunusa in Central Guadalcanal.
This comes as GRML seeks to gain consent from individual landowners before its current Prospecting License (PL) expires on 23 August 2025.
In a meeting held over the weekend in Honiara, KLA resolved not to engage in any negotiations with GRML, including through its agents, representatives, or anyone acting on its behalf, during the remaining three months of the license period.
KLA comprises four principal tribes: Garavu, Koenahau, Lasi, and Manukiki.
A landowner explained that one of the main reasons for opposing the renewal of GRML’s PL is that not all tribal trustees signed the original agreement.
Additionally, there are ongoing environmental and social concerns linked to GRML’s past operations on their land.
Previously, the Mines and Minerals Board cancelled GRML’s PL for the Mt. Vunusa site.
This decision was communicated to GRML’s Managing Director, Mr. Gao, in a letter dated 9 December 2024, signed by then-Minister of Mines, Energy, and Rural Electrification, Bradley Tovosia.
The cancellation followed the Board’s recommendation from 12 December 2023 and discussions during its third ordinary meeting on 21 November 2024.
The letter stated:
“As required under Regulation Part 11 (4) of the Mines and Minerals Regulations 1996, you are hereby advised of the Mines and Minerals Board’s resolution.
“The Board was again informed that, since its last deliberation on your limited access to Mt. Vunusa on 22 December 2023, unresolved issues persist with landowning groups in the Keohoto region.
“These include disputes over rights to blocks within your PL tenement area. It was also revealed that some landowners had revoked consent for access, thereby breaching the terms of the Surface Access Agreement (SAA).
“As a result, the Board concluded that GRML no longer holds access rights under the agreement.”
Following this, the Mines Division sought legal clarification from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
Upon confirmation, the Board formally recommended the cancellation of Prospecting License PL05/22 due to GRML’s lack of access to the tenement area.
KLA leaders—including the late Chief Celestine Seri (Keohoto), Peter Raemidiha (Manukiki), Shannel Seli (Koenahau), and Amado Mae (Lasi)—reaffirmed their stance during a meeting with the Director of Mines, Krista Tatapu, on 17 January 2025.
“We will not negotiate for any renewal of the prospecting license for Gold Ridge,” said the late Chief Seri.
He stressed that their position was made independently and without outside influence.
“We want the land to remain with us. It is our decision whether to engage with any company for development,” he added.
Late Chief Seri also previously told the media that the KLA had symbolically presented two chupu (traditional gifts) to GRML, signaling their wish for the company to vacate the land.
“Those two chupu should have been enough to indicate the company must stay out,” he said.
Meanwhile, KLA has further scrutinised the statement issued by the Director in a letter when she stated that;
- She failed to see any statement in the letter that says that as Minister, he is hereby cancelling the PL” and;
- The letter serves as a notification on the ministry’s position on the status of the PL are misleading and confusing, lacking proper interpretation.
As far as KLA is concerned, the purpose and intention of the letter is very clear.
Firstly, the subject matter – the heading or the subject heading of the letter is “Cancellation of Prospecting Licence (PL 05/22) over Mt Vunusa. There is no ambiguity about this.”
The notification on the ministry’s position on the status of the PL on Mount Vunusa is the “cancellation of the PL.”
Further, KLA said, the last paragraph of the same letter stated as follows…Board has been directed to correct this therefore, has now once again recommended to the Minister to cancel Prospecting License (PL 05/22) as the company (GRML) has no longer access into the tenement area.
So, the recommendation by the Board is to cancel the PL and Minister simply conveyed the cancellation, KLA said.
Secondly, the letter is very clear regarding the basis of the cancellation. The main one is lacking access because of the improper process that GRML used to satisfy the process under the Mines and Minerals Act for purpose of getting the Surface Access Agreement.
The process was manipulated to get the unsuspected vulnerable landowners consent (who have no capacity/authority to bind their respective tribes and sub-tribes) to give consent on behalf of their tribes without the authority from the tribal heads, KLA claimed.
“This unscrupulous conduct by GRML was challenged by the Tribal Landowning Chiefs, therefore led to the revocation or withdrawal of these consents.
“Infact, the initial application by GRML for the PL over mount Vunusa could have potentially by fraudulent in nature because of the fraudulent misrepresentation regarding the consent,” KLA alleged.
To claim that the Minister has not cancelled the PL simply because it is not worded in a manner that she expects is simply wrong, misleading and causing serious confusion, KLA added.
Further, to state that the PL has not or never been cancelled and still appears as valid in our records is contradictory to the Boards resolution as referred to in the letter by the Minister.
“As landowners, we are considering seeking legal advice and may call for investigation regarding the handling of this matter,” the landowners said.
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Photo caption: Landowners representing Keohoto Landowners Association (KLA) during their meeting in Honiara on Sunday.
