The country’s largest gold exploration exercise since the discovery and establishment of Vatukoula Gold Mines could proceed in the next 22 days, if objections are not recorded with Mineral Resources Department.
Mercurius Mineral Resources Pte Ltd, a relatively unheard-of organisation that registered its interest in mineral exploration last year, aimed to acquire a special prospecting license for 135,106 hectares.
Vatukoula Gold Mines – Fiji’s longest operating gold manufacturer – covers over 1618.7 hectares.
The project has a bearing on other operators in Fiji’s mineral resources sector, including the recently commissioned Lion One Tuvatu alkaline gold mines in Sabeto, Kulukulu’s black sands mine which is operated by Australian company Dome, and even Ding Jin Mining Pte Ltd’s special prospecting license in Vuda.
Oak Mines prospecting license in Malomalo and Alice Exploration Pte Ltd’s prospects in Nabila are also covered in the area considered by Mercurius Mineral.
SunBiz understands Mercurius Mineral is working through Investment Fiji to further its interests in Fiji.
Investment Fiji chief executive officer Kamal Chetty is part of a trade mission to United States of America and Canada and did not have further information about the mineral exploration company.
Mercurius Mineral’s quest for minerals through the prospecting project extends from the inner reaches of Navosa and Magrodo in the interior of the mainland, to the coastal areas off Cuvu to Sigatoka, following the coastline of Nadi Airport to Narewa.
It covers a good part of Nausori Highlands.
Mercurius Minerals was one of five companies that applied for a license under Mineral Resources Department’s (MRD) tenement listing in June 2023.
While queries sent to Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo, and director minerals Apete Soro remained unanswered, industry insiders said the department had put the cart before the horse in this instance.
“The situation smacks of poor leadership at MRD and would not have seen the light of day if the late minerals director Raymond Mohammed was still around; not for the magnitude and scale of exploration that is proposed for the entire area in question,” an industry source said.
“This is a classic example of another company that only wants to hold on to an exploration license as leverage on financial platforms.
“It’s absurd.
“Was due diligence carried out?
“Yes, the minerals belong to the State, but were all landowning units consulted prior?
“Fiji will be on the losing end of the project.”
The area eyed by Mercurius Mineral covers 24 districts.
“But the tikina don’t have a say in this; it’s the yavusa (clans) and tokatoka (several family units),” one insider said.
“These developers will probably just hold on to the lease for the sake of acquisition, not for further development.”
An industry spokesman said Mercurius Mineral was after “everything” that included gold and manganese.
The government said in an advertisement, Mercurius’ application was for “precious metals and metalliferous minerals, that excluded earthy minerals and geothermal resources and heat”.
The special prospecting license covers three provinces in Narewa. The provinces are Ba, Nadroga and Navosa.
The areas included in the special prospecting license application are:
- Bemana,
- Conua,
- Magodro,
- Malomalo,
- Mavua,
- Nalotawa,
- Naloto,
- Namataku,
- Nadi,
- Nasikawa,
- Nawaka,
- Noikoro,
- Nokonoko,
- Qalimare,
- Qaliyalatina,
- Rukuruku,
- Sabeto,
- Sigatoka,
- Sikituru,
- Tuva,
- Tuvu,
- Vaturu,
- Wai, and
- Waiciba.
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