Gold Ridge holds official rebranding and launching of Gold Ridge Foundation

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“Empowering Communities, Building Futures”
Obo’obo Village, 19 June 2025

Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) has announced the official rebranding and launching of the Gold Ridge Foundation at a special ceremony held at Obo’obo Village in Central Guadalcanal on Wednesday 19th June 2025.

The event was attended by chiefs, elders, landowners, community members, and senior officials of GRML, marking a milestone in the company’s deepening commitment to long-term, inclusive, and sustainable development for its host communities.

Speaking at the launch, GRML Director and CEO Mr. Mingqing Gao described the moment as a powerful new beginning — a platform of shared responsibility and hope.

“This Foundation is not a one-time effort or a short-term program. It is a long-term, systematic, and sustainable community development platform. Every dollar, every project, and every decision will carry a shared purpose – to empower communities and build a better future.”

Mr. Gao emphasized that the true success of the Gold Ridge Mine is not measured solely by its mineral output, but by the positive changes it brings to the lives of the people, especially the landowners and communities surrounding the mining lease area.

With the theme: Empowering Communities, building futures; it’s Vision and Mission are:

The Gold Ridge Foundation’s vision is to help communities become more resilient, dignified, and capable of creating their own prosperity.

Its mission focuses on delivering tangible support across four key areas:

1. Education

2. Health

3. Livelihoods

4. Social Inclusion

These focus areas aim to help people move toward self-reliance and strength.

Core Values

The Foundation will operate under the guiding values of:

• Transparency – because trust comes from openness

• Fairness – because everyone deserves to be seen and heard

• Partnership – because only together can we go far

• Sustainability – because the seeds we plant today are meant to bear fruit tomorrow

Mr. Gao noted, “There is a saying: Natural resources may one day be exhausted, but a person’s capacity, knowledge, and hope are everlasting assets.”

Through the Foundation, GRML aims to enable more young people to finish school, support women in generating income, sustain local clinics, and ensure children grow up in safe, clean, and healthy environments.

A Foundation Built by the People, for the People

Importantly, Mr. Gao stressed that the Gold Ridge Foundation belongs to the people:

“It is your Foundation, built for you and with you. As we look to the future, we hope to plan the road ahead together, and walk it side by side.”

The rebranding and launch signify GRML’s strategic shift toward corporate responsibility that directly benefits its host communities, while also reinforcing GRML’s public commitment to transparent, inclusive, and responsible mining in Solomon Islands.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Gao offered thanks to community leaders, landowning groups, the government, and all stakeholders who supported the Foundation’s journey to this point:

“Let us plant with faith, nurture with action, and harvest with unity.”

The Gold Ridge Foundation (GRF)—formerly known as the Gold Ridge Charity Fund—is now officially rebranded and launched. While fund disbursements began last week, today’s event at Obo’obo marks the first official payout under the new name, “Gold Ridge Foundation.”

The Gold Ridge Foundation is a community-driven, non-profit initiative established to empower, support, and uplift vulnerable and marginalized communities in areas surrounding the Gold Ridge Mine and beyond. Funded and supported by Mr. Mingqing Gao, the Foundation serves as a platform to deliver sustainable, inclusive, and transparent community development programs that reflect and respond to local aspirations and needs.

The payout at Obo’obo marks the completion of the 2024 tranche of the Gold Ridge Foundation assistance program. The foundation payouts were held at Turarana, Kuare, Bemuta, Koku and Obo’obo villages in the past two weeks.

Under this 2024 funding, a total of 125 disadvantaged individuals, including the marginalized and people with special needs, each received a $4,000 cash payment. This support reflects the Foundation’s commitment to providing tangible, direct assistance to those most in need within Gold Ridge catchment communities.