Ian He, vice chairman of Vatukoula Gold Mine Pte Ltd, has told a public consultation in Tavua that mineral exploration in Fiji is a high‑risk business and is being hampered by local land access issues, underscoring challenges raised as the government reviews the Mining Act 1965 and Quarries Act 1939.
Speaking at the consultation on the legislative review, Mr He said exploration can cost companies “millions of dollars with no result,” and pointed to a long history of failed attempts. “For the last 50 years many companies have come over to Fiji to conduct exploration and then leave because they were not successful,” he said, adding that the sector’s low success rate deters investment.
He told the meeting that land access is a key operational obstacle. Exploration requires bringing in equipment and temporarily occupying land, he explained, but local landowners often block access or demand large compensation payments. “We have difficulty in accessing the land when the exploration alone could bring benefits to the landowners,” Mr He said. “Here if we want to access their land for exploration, they block us. They demand a lot of compensation.”
Mr He also highlighted a broader awareness problem: with only three mining companies currently operating in Fiji, he said, landowners lack experience of what exploration and eventual mining can deliver. “The reason for this is there is no established mining industry in Fiji… landowners don’t understand the benefits they can enjoy when people conduct exploration for minerals,” he said.
As part of his pitch at the consultation, Mr He urged more outreach to communities to explain potential economic gains from successful exploration and development. He outlined the cascade of benefits a discovered deposit could bring: investment in a mine, lease payments to landowners, local employment and salaries, and taxes paid to government. “We will build a mine and extract the mineral. That means we will lease their land, we will employ their people, pay their salary, pay taxes to the Government. All of this adds economic value to the community,” he told attendees.
The comments come as the review of the Mining Act 1965 and Quarries Act 1939 proceeds through public consultations, a process intended to modernise long‑standing legislation and address issues including land access, environmental safeguards and benefit sharing. Mr He’s intervention places industry concern about exploration economics and community relations squarely in the public record as lawmakers consider potential legal and regulatory changes.
By framing landowner education and consent as central to attracting exploration investment, Vatukoula’s vice chairman signalled a push for policy and stakeholder engagement measures that could ease on‑the‑ground access for prospecting firms. His remarks are the latest development in a debate over how Fiji can balance sovereign control of mineral resources, community rights over land, and the need to make exploration financially viable in a high‑risk sector.
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