Locals and foreign employees carrying out Prospecting at San Jorge Island

AXIOM Mining Company Limited is optimistic to roll out its full scale operation on South San Jorge Tenement if all proceeding turns out positive later this year.

“This year, on the San Jorge tenement, the company intends to complete its initial round of drilling, issue a maiden JORC Resource statement and complete a Pre-Feasibility study and, subject to permitting and licensing, commence mining in the first half of 2017,” a statement from the company said.

According to the statement, Axiom has already obtained a Prospecting Licence for the San Jorge tenement project and that drilling programme as well as other development activities are currently underway.

Axiom described the Isabel Nickel Project as one of the largest nickel laterite deposits in the Pacific and that the project has previously been extensively explored and developed by mining and engineering industry leaders, including Inco Limited and Kaiser Engineering.

On another quest, Axiom has resubmitted its application for a Prospecting Licence for Kolosori tenement and the application is currently pending before the government.

“If we receives a favourable response from the Solomon Islands government as to the Kolosori prospecting license application, the Company intends to also issue the required studies for mining and sustainably move the project into production (again subject to permitting and licensing),” the statement said.

In an interview with this paper early this week, Landowners of South San Jorge declared that they have thrown their support behind Axiom for the development.

Spokesperson of the Landowning group Mr Thompson Tavake said landowners have waited long enough for such development and that a Surface Access Agreement has been sealed between landowners and Axiom Mining Company to speed up the much awaiting nickel development.

He said Landowners of South San Jorge are now standing behind Axiom Mining Company to bring development within their area.

“We are now standing together with the company and are ready to move forward with development plans proposed for our land.

“We have all the right to develop our land with opportunity at hand therefor we need the government’s support to speed up the implementation of this development,” Mr Tavake said.

He reiterated that Landowners of South San Jorge are eager to see development that would bring in benefits for people in their area.