Mines Ministry works to resolve dispute between landowners and mining company in San Jorge

By Alfred Pagepitu

The Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification is working on solving a dispute between landowners and a mining company at San Jorge, Isabel province.

Landowners earlier voiced their disappointments and claimed that the Far East Resource Company entered the Burusile tenement without their consent.

They said that the company has gone in with heavy machinery and other equipment, indicating they are conducting mining operations, not just prospecting.

But Chairman of the San Jorge Resource Owners Association and Community Liaison Officer with the company, Wilson Tohidi earlier acknowledged the surface access agreement in place and stated that they are working to accommodate the necessary fees.

“We are willing to talk with the landowners to clarify what is happening and address their concerns.”

Tohidi further clarified that the company has only brought in one excavator to clear the site and four drilling machines for the prospecting process, not for full-scale mining operations.

 “If they plan to do mining, it’s their own, and we will sign the agreement later if the reports are done.”

“Currently, this is just the prospecting stage, and we want to ask the landowners to understand the concept of the mining process,” Tohidi said.

The Director of Mines, Krista Jacob admitted that the Ministry has received verbal complaints against the company and is working to resolve the dispute.

“As per the process under the Mines and Minerals Act 21 (9), companies can only enter and carry out prospecting activities in a certain tenement area or concession upon signing a Surface Access Agreement with the Landowners.”

“They are not supposed to be working outside their tenement area.”

“If this happens, it is a breach of their prospecting conditions.”

“It is important that a verification exercise be conducted to ascertain if the company is working outside, and if so, measures will be taken by the Ministry to address the verified breach,” Jacob said.

Under the Mines and Minerals Act 26, companies who have a prospecting license have the exclusive right to enter any land in the prospecting area and carry out prospecting. 

As stated in the Act they may as far as necessary, drill, trench, pit and make excavations, build roads, helicopter pads, erect camps and construct temporary buildings, install or fix machinery, and take or direct any public water from any lake, river or watercourse.

However, companies will have to use machinery and in order to apply for a mining lease/license, companies would first need to submit a commercial discovery and make an application with a complete feasibility study.

Jacob said that companies cannot carry out mining operations without a mining license and cannot export minerals without an export permit.

He further explained that under the Surface Access Agreement signed between landowners and the company, there is a provision for dispute resolution, which landowners can invoke and get the company into negotiations on their concerns. 

ENDS///