THE special prospecting licence for Tuvatu Gold Mine held by Lion One Limited will expire in June.
And months from the expiry date, the company is interested in reinvesting money in the Sabeto mine provided the government renews its licence.
Lands and Mineral Resources permanent secretary Tevita Boseiwaqa met landowners and company representatives in Nadi yesterday to discuss the possibility of renewing the licence.
He said all parties were happy with the outcome of the meeting.
"The Tuvatu SPL will expire in June, and the company is asking for a renewal and for this we need the landowners' approval," said Mr Boseiwaqa.
"Instead of waiting for the expiry, we are acting now to have the renewal approved before the expiry date. Thus we met with the landowners and company officials, basically on the agreement and we're happy that both sides are satisfied.
"Now we will consolidate all this and come up with a second draft which will be discussed with both parties. Once they agree, we will sign as a witness and hope this is concluded by May."
Mr Boseiwaqa said the interests of both parties had been considered. "The company has been drilling and is quite positive which is the reason it wants to continue drilling.
"I have been informed by the company that they're about to lodge for a mining licence but we will only consider this seriously once we got the application. At the moment we are just focusing on the renewal of the SPL."