The mining lease awarded by the country’s Minister for Mines allows Axiom Mining to start mining of the Isabel Nickel Project at the San Jorge deposit. It has been granted for a term of 25 years, allowing the company to carry out extraction, and also export and sale of nickel ore and other associated commodities from the Isabel Nickel Project.
Solomon Islands Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification Minister Bradley Tovosia said: “The Isabel Nickel Project is to be an important part of our economy, and it’s exciting to see real production now moving forward for everyone’s benefit.”
According to Axiom Mining, the Isabel project is widely considered to be one of the largest nickel laterite deposits in the Pacific.
It further said that the nickel deposits at San Jorge lie very close to the surface in uninhabited land along a shore, which encloses a natural deep water harbor. The company said that all these qualities will enable it to bring a direct shipping of ore operation to the market in a timely and environmentally acceptable manner.
Axiom Mining has already started development and construction of the nickel mine and also upgrades of the exploration camp to a long-term mining camp. It has also started construction of roads and loading facilities and community consultations ahead of the first shipment of ore from the Isabel Nickel Project, which is expected to happen in Q1 2019.
Axiom CEO Ryan Mount said: “We are now able to commence the construction of the Isabel Nickel Project and the subsequent sustainable mining of this world class asset. This is the first time that any company in the mining industry has been granted a Mining Lease for this project.”
The company revealed that the financing for life of mine construction and development is in the advanced stages and is slated to be wrapped up in the coming weeks.
