DREDGING work carried out as part of iron-sand mining at the mouth of the Ba River could also aid in reducing flooding.
Director Mineral Resources Mala Finau said dredging by miners Amex Resources Limited (ARL) would have many benefits for the rural centre and the country as a whole.
"The mining will employ a dredging method and this will assist in the removal of debris and other sediments clogging up the river delta where mining through dredging will occur," he said.
"This sedimentation had contributed to flooding in the Ba Delta and this mining potentially could help alleviate this problem.
"So there is a dual benefit here of the removal of river debris for disaster mitigation and management, and the removal of minerals for economic benefit not only to the local area but to the nation as well."
ARL has been granted a licence to mine magnetite-rich iron-sand 132 square kilometres at the mouth of the Ba River.
Construction has begun at the Lautoka Port for a holding facility for magnetite concentrate.
Mining at Ba is scheduled to begin at the end of next year.