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1996 - A Year of New Beginnings Notable events for Fiji's mineral sector during 1996 were that a new gold mine opened, a new mining council was formed, a new mineral policy was prepared (and has now been released), and the Government adopted a new attitude to mineral sector developers and developments. The Fiji Government also signed an agreement with the Australian Government to proceed with an aeromagnetic survey of Fiji's prospective areas in 1997. All in all this made 1996 an exiting year for the mining industry in Fiji. The one down-side to our year was that the Namosi project did not take off as expected. However the mineralisation remains there for further evaluation. Starting with the big news item of 1996... Fiji's second gold mine opened at Mt Kasi in Vanua Levu. The Mt Kasi tenement, previously mined in the 1940's and 1950's, has mineable reserves of 153,000 ounces gold. Its reopening marked an awakening in investors attitudes to mineral sector development possibilities in Fiji. Just prior to this, in February 1996, the Mining and Quarrying Council was formed. The Council is one of five councils which fall under the umbrella organisation of the Fiji Employers Federation. Each Council looks after the interests of their own industry, and provides a forum for discussion of issues which may affect the industry. Since its inception, the Mining and Quarrying Council has played an active role in advancing the development of Fiji's mining sector as well as reforming the public image of Fiji's mining industry. In this regard, the Council has urged Government to work towards increasing the mining sector's contribution to economic growth. This push has been successful, and Government has now embraced the task of raising FJD100 million in mineral sector investment by the year 2000. As part of Government's new outlook on the mineral sector, it has released Fiji's first ever Mineral Policy. This is a comprehensive guide to how mineral sector investors will be treated in Fiji. If you are aware of any other interested investors, please ask them to write to the Director of Mines at Mineral Resources Department for a complimentary copy. Within Mineral Resources Department we have beefed up our attitude to our customers and are attempting to disseminate inormation about the services we provide through a bi-weekly technical seminar series, wherein presenters, mainly from within the Mineral Resources Department are provided an opportunity to share their area of expertise. The Seminar Series has proved popular, and has been well received. In 1997, MRD also plans to launch a quarterly Newsletter providing technical reviews of on-going projects within MRD. With these events behind us, we are looking forward to a busy 1997. We are in the final stages of putting together our Mineral Sector Promotional document, which provides a nuts and bolts guide to how to get started. We are also looking forward to the commencement of our aeromagnetic survey, another first for Fiji. 1996 has shown that the mining and exploration industry is just beginning to rouse from its slumber. 1997 should prove to be just another step forward as this industry marches onwards. |
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