Landslide at major Solomon Islands gold mine: officials

SYDNEY, Australia: A landslide has occurred at a major gold mine in the Solomon Islands, the Pacific nation’s disaster office told AFP on Monday.

The Chinese-owned Gold Ridge mine is a significant contributor to the Solomons’ economy and began an expansion last year.

The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force declined to comment on a death toll after local media outlet In-depth Solomons reported 10 bodies had been recovered at the mine site.

The National Disaster Management Office confirmed to AFP that a landslide had taken place at the mine, which is around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the capital Honiara.

In Honiara, the National Referral Hospital said it was expecting to receive fatalities.

“Some have passed away,” hospital worker Lyrex Alick told AFP.

Images and video posted to social media showed bulldozers digging through collapsed rock and dirt at the mine site.

Gold Ridge Mining is majority-owned by Chinese company Wanguo International Mining, which said in May the mine contributed almost a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product last year.

Gold Ridge and Wanguo did not respond to requests for comment.

The country’s new prime minister, Matthew Wale, has recently flagged sweeping reform of the mining sector to return more revenue to the local economy.