An Australian company Pacific Bauxite has secured a licence to prospect the island and its representatives are in the island's capital Lata this week.
Some local people are opposed to their presence and have set up roadblocks to stop them from travelling around the island.
A spokesperson for the community, Sir John Ini Lapli, who is also a former governor general of Solomon Islands, said the issue had divided families and tribes, making the situation very tense.
