BY NED GAGAHE

The Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly has passed a new amendment to the Business and Hawkers Licensing Ordinance, significantly increasing licensing fees for key industries including mining, gold dealing, prospecting, and quarrying.

The new changes are part of the Guadalcanal Province Business and Hawkers Licensing (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, made under section 30 of the Provincial Government Act 1997 and gazetted recently.

According to the amendment, the fee for a Mining License has been increased from $500,000 to $5,000,000, while the fee for a Prospecting License has jumped from $50,000 to $250,000.

The fee for a Gold Dealer License is also revised, now costing $10,000, up from $5,000.

Meanwhile, the Alluvial Mining License fee sees a dramatic rise from $75,000 to $2,000,000.

Additionally, the Quarrying License under the Light Industries category has been increased from $3,000 to $20,000.

The ordinance was passed by the Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly on April 1, 2025, and was formally assented to by the Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, Wayne Ghemu, on May 27, 2025.

Officials say the revised fees reflect the province’s push for greater revenue generation from natural resource industries and to ensure proper regulation and oversight of extractive activities.

Observers said that the substantial increase in fees may also help deter illegal or unregulated mining operations across Guadalcanal.

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