With a collective payment of $75,179.86, Nasomo landowners in Vatukoula have received their largest mineral royalties to date.
This is the fifth pay out for the 123 members of the Nasomo Landowners Trust’s, covering the period of June to August 2019.
“This pay-out is aligned to section five (5) – Fair share of royalties of the Fair Share of Mineral Royalties Act 2018 which states that 80% of mineral royalties be given to landowning units and 20% of the royalty be retained by the State,” said Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Hon. Ashneel Sudhakar.
To date, the Bainimarama Government has paid out a total of approximately $308,000 to the Nasomo Landowners Trust and in entirety, landowning units on or under whose land mineral extraction or mining is undertaken have received a total of approximately $4.4 million.
Minister Sudhakar acknowledged Vatukoula Gold Mines Limited, noting that as long as they mined, Nasomo Trust members would continue to receive a fair share of gold and silver royalties, based on the saleable material extracted from the land.
Nasomo landowners have established a community trust fund supported by a percentage of proceeds from their royalties.