The head of the company that owns the gold mine in Solomon Islands says there is little more it can do to stop illegal mining.
Tim Lehany says up to 200 people - including children - unlawfully extract gold from the Gold Ridge pits every night and a small amount of illegal mining also occurs during the day.
Transparency Solomon Islands has expressed concern about the miners' safety but Mr Lehany says the site's terrain and issues of customary land ownership make it difficult to keep them away.
He says the mining company security team is not there to get into physical confrontations.
"We believe that is the role of the Royal Solomons Police.These people are all armed with bush knives, we've had threats made, we've had stones thrown and particularly people who're intoxicated can get pretty excited and that just adds another dimension to this whole thing."
Tim Lehany says his company is very concerned that someone will get hurt and is working closely with the police.