Scott McLeod, Steven Forrest and James Green (led by Gibson QC) acted for SMM Solomon Limited, a subsidiary of Japanese miner Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd, in relation to an important matter in the Solomon Islands Court of Appeal concerning the validity of various mineral rights granted pursuant to an International Tender organised by the Solomon Islands Government in 2010. Ultimately, the Court of Appeal found a rival miner’s prospecting licence over a substantial area of land initially awarded to SMM Solomon Limited to be invalid, and upheld local landowners’ entitlement to customary ownership of the land. The decision had been reserved after two weeks of argument in May and June last year, following a 95-day trial in the Solomon Islands High Court ending in 2014.
The judgment is yet to be made available online, but the outcome of the decision has been picked up by local news media. Please click here and here for press coverage of the matter.
