Law review to boost mineral exploration
Wednesday September 05, 2007

Outdated laws and policies are to be reviewed to aid mineral exploration and development in the country.

Interim Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Tevita Vuibau said that certain laws have been around for 30 years and have become outdated.

"One of the major issues we now see is the Act that governs the policing of extraction of minerals and the prospecting of minerals. Also the quarrying of stones is not strong enough or perhaps outdated to actually carry out the requirements of extraction and exploration that we need today," Vuibau said in a statement.

Vuibau said that for instance the present Quarrying Act is not adequate to allow redevelopment of the quarry mine in Mau, Namosi.

He also highlighted that another reason is because the area in question is on a native reserve land.

Vuibau and officials from the Mineral Resources Department recently visited parts of Viti Levu to consult landowners and stakeholders "and ascertain the effectiveness of the laws and state policies in order to properly make proposals for various projects".

"In understanding the core issues only then we can come up with a policy that effectively can address issues surrounding the development of resources in our country," he said.