Abandoned

BSI Gold Search Abandoned Effect of Colonial Office's New Law

OWING to the refusal of the British Colonial Office to give reasonable encouragement and help, the plan made by Emperor Interests (Fiji) to seek for gold and develop the gold-mining industry in the British Solomon Islands has been abandoned. Mr. E. G. Theodore, chairman of the group of companies which carries on the Fiji gold-mining in dustry at Vatukoula, gave this informa tion recently to the “PIM.”

After discussions with the High Com missioner for the Western Pacific, Mr.

Theodore and his friends in 1940 formed a company called Solomon Gold Explora tion Ltd., with a nominal capital of £75,000. It proposed to subscribe £50,000, to finance a gold search in the Solomons, and to spend £lO,OOO per annum for five years on this search.

With the approval of the British Colonial Office, a lease was granted over certain areas on Guadalcanal in 1941, for a period of five years. The company commenced operations in 1941, but was driven out by the Jap invasion less than a year later.

The Company proposed to resume its search for gold in 1946; but, before com mencing operations, it was necessary to secure a renewal of the lease.

To the directors’ astonishment, the British Colonial Office (now under the rule'of the British Labour Party) insisted upon an alteration in the terms of the lease. This meant that the company was entitled to certain rights only in connec tion with gold discovered it would have no rights or privileges in relation to any other valuable mineral found, even al though the discovery was the result of its exploratory operations.

When Mr. Theodore was in London in 1946 he discussed this change with vari ous officials, and tried to make them see its unreasonableness. However the Soci alist gentlemen who now rule Britain were adamant. The Colonial Office in sisted upon the new provision in the lease.

The directors of the company met in Melbourne in December and decided to abandon the whole enterprise. A number of highly skilled gold-miners and prospec tors who had been standing by for months awaiting orders to go to the Solomons were advised accordingly, and have now dispersed.