Landowners of the Gold Ridge Gold Mine in the Solomon Islands say that the mine will be reopened in 2016.
The mine was forcefully closed in 2014 following flash flooding in the area.
The announcement comes after the mine’s former owner, Australian gold miner Saint Barbara, handed over a new water treatment facility that will allow for the release of treated water from the mine’s tailings dam.
The dam is overfull and water treatment is said to begin immediately with the aim to decrease water levels by a metre over the next three months.
Chairperson of Gold Ridge Community Investments Limited, Walton Naezon, says that they are in discussions with Australian based Chinese company AXF Group to possibly take on mine operations next year.
The landowner company bought the troubled mine for a mere $100 from previous owner Saint Barbara. The mine has been bombarded with scores of problems, which include having extremely high level of contaminated water in its tailing dam following flash floods in 2014.
