Discusses a range of factors that Solomon Islands villagers face when deciding whether or not to allow access to minerals buried in land over which they hold customary tenure. Introduction Now that Solomon Islands' timber resources are depleted there is a renewed focus on exploiting the nation's mineral resources. With the country's only mine, at...

Abstract: That Solomon Islands village communities find their governments to be distant and invisible is not a new observation. Allen and Dinnen, 2013, have aptly described what happens locally as ‘beneath the state’. During the ‘tension years’ 1998-2003 Solomon Islands national government for an extended period was unable to function but village communities not involved...