Asia Pacific Investment Development (APID) and its mining contractor Bintan may have underpaid royalties due to landowners of west Rennell.
Although operations have been suspended, no royalty payout has been made and received by people of West Rennell.
Sources reveal to the Sunday Star this may be so if a review of exported consignment samples is not accurate.
APID has paid more than a million dollars in royalty, and the money is now sitting in a suspense account at the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI).
This payment was for bauxites the company extracted from west Rennell before its operations were suspended.
Those familiar with the assessment said they believe the actual weights of the exported consignments have been under-valued.
“It’s obvious and we doubt it, APID weighing the consignments themselves and provided details to the export with no verification,” said one source.
The source said if the review is done, APID should expect to pay additional five or more percent to the landowners in terms of royalties.
Mines Permanent Secretary, Jeffery Deve, was sent a list of questions on the issue but no feedback has been received since.
He said these are technical matters and wanted the Director of Mines, Thomas Toba to answer the questions.
Director Toba is understood to be abroad and could not be reached for comments.
But sources said the Ministry of Mines has sent a technical team on the ground to do proper assessment of the samples of consignments already exported.
APID said it made four shipments last year.
By BRADFORD THEONOMI