TREASURE HOARD found in Ontong Java recently is still being kept in the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands, despite being dubbed as only mixed metals.
From test results, public were told that the metals were only mixtures of lead and iron.
Police Commissioner Frank Prendergast when asked yesterday why the metal bars weren’t destroyed if they had no value, said that additional tests are still to be carried out on them.
He clarified that the police’s role in the matter was only to confiscate the bars and keep them safe until all tests are completed.
However, he said that it is the Government’s and the founders’ responsibility and concern what happens to the bars.
Adding that the additional tests depends on the experts when they are to be carried out.
Ministry of Mines experts also confirmed to Island Sun that the metal bars were only iron and not gold as claimed.
The officer admits that some of the bars may contain Gold among their mixtures but that they would be present in small amounts, which would not justify the cost of reprocessing to purify them.
But when asked what they will do with those items, the officer said that the country has other ACT dealing with wreckages.
CBSI also confirmed to this paper that the items are still with them, however, they are not making any comments on the items.
The alleged gold bars were salvaged by villagers of Ontong Java, led by Dr Reginald Aipia and his men.
There were more than a hundred bars and police seized the cargo and took it away for safe keeping and examination at the CBSI in March this year.
The story went viral and was taken up by the regional media, who reported that “gold bars from an old sunken ship were salvaged by villagers in Solomon Islands”.
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