The Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification may issue Building Materials Permits for the mining of building materials in any area of Solomon Islands where the Minister is satisfied that the proposed mining will not cause erosion of coastal or river sediments, or otherwise adversely affect the environment.
In order to lodge an Application for a Building Materials Permit, Applicants are required to fill in the appropriate application form and to make a payment to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
pdf Mining Rights Application Form (317 KB) Standard Forms
A valid Application constitutes a completed Application Form that meets all requirements (see Step 2 below for a checklist) and a receipt from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury indicating payment of fees.
Building Materials Permits are lodged to the Director of Mines and are granted and rejected by the Mines & Minerals Board.
Applications for a Building Materials Permit must be made using the approved application form which shall require that specific information is provided to the Director of Mines. Applications that are lodged that do not meet the threshold requirements will not be considered.
The following information must be provided as a requirement of a standard Building Materials Permit Application :
The Applicant must also be able to provide the following :
If the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification is satisfied that no the building materials mining operations will have no adverse environmental effects, a Building Materials Permits are issued for 10 years.
Applications can be hand-delivered to the Executive Personal Secretary's (EPS) office or to the Director of Mines. After an Application is processed, the Director of Mines will receive it, date it and pass it on to the Mines & Minerals Board with recommendations from his office.
Mines & Minerals Board Contact the EPS Contact Director of Mines
The Director of Mines and his Officers will prepare Applicants documents and Licence and submit them to the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification with his/her recommendations.
The Mines & Minerals Board will consider whether received Applications meet established requirements and that the proposed building materials mining operations will have no adverse impact on the environment.
The Board will advise the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification of their recommendations.
The Director of Mines will notify Applicants of the status of their Application.
If the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification is satisfied that the building materials mining operations will have no adverse environmental effects the Director of Mines will contact the Applicant.
The Applicant, in consultation with the Director and in accordance with recommendations from the Mines & Minerals Board, must negotiate terms and conditions of Surface Access with relevant landowners. Landowners' consent must be reduced to writing and a copy must be provided to the Director.
The Minister will issue a Building Materials Permit when an agreement has been made with landowners.
The Director will provide a copy of the Building Materials Permit to the relevant Provincial Secretary.
The Permit Holder must comply with their obligations, including the payment of fees and compensation to landowners, payment of royalties and fulfilling the required reporting.
Upon being issued a Building Materials Permit, the Permit Holder may proceed with their operations.
The Permit Holder has the right to enter any land for the purpose of mining building materials in accordance with the prescribed opencast mining procedures.
The Permit Holder must fulfil the following :
If a Permit Holder fails to fulfil their obligations to pay landowners, penalties will be applied on a daily basis to those obligatory payments.
Permit Holders who fail to comply with any of their obligations will be held liable to a fine not exceeding SBD $1,000.00 and, in default of payment, to imprisonment for not more than 6 months.
