Tonga minerals exploration brings in $1.24m for Govt. [1]
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 17:59. Updated on Thursday, February 12, 2015 - 21:30.
Two mining companies, TCK Tonga Ltd. and Nautilus Minerals Tonga Ltd., have made a total of $1.24 million pa'anga of withholding tax payments to the Tonga government for their mineral exploration in Tongan waters in 2008.
Paula Taumoepeau, the Tonga Country Manager for Nautilus Minerals Tonga Ltd. said today that government was already benefiting from the minerals exploration, even though they were still a few years away from actually mining.
Earlier this month Nautilus paid $722,000 and its exploration partner TCK Tonga Ltd paid $520,000 in Withholding Taxes.
The Minister of Finance Hon 'Afu'alo Matoto this morning in receiving the payments from the two companies for the Tonga government, expressed his optimism that minerals exploration under Tonga waters "looks promising".
Nautilus, the first company to be issued with a license to explore for minerals offshore here, has joined forces with TCK Tonga Ltd., which does not have an exploration licence.
Paula said that TCK Tonga had been undertaking a low environmental impact geochemical and geophysical surveys and sampling of the seafloor using remote operating vehicles.
Meanwhile, a third interested explorer, the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, visited Tonga in December, carrying out minerals exploration in Southern Tonga and made a commitment that they would set up an exploration company in Tonga during the first quarter 2009.