Choiseul Province and will see over cleared to gain access to nickel deposits over the life of the mining operation. Prospecting for gold has also occurred close to Susuka in north Choiseul. A proposal to establish over in north Choiseul as oil palm plantation will also have significant environmental impact. The Choiseul Province is sub-divided into the following wards: Choiseul Province The Choiseul Province is one of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It lies southeast of Bougainville (part of Papua New Guinea, west of Santa Isabel and north of Vella la Vella, Kolombangra & New Georgia. In the 2009 national census
Santa Isabel Island Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and Alférez Hernando Enríquez resulted in the discoveries of the islands of Malaita, Guadalcanal, Savo, Vangunu, Choiseul, Makira, Ulawa, Malaupaina, Malaulalo, Ali'ite, and Ugi Island. The Spanish immediately came into contact with Solomon Islanders and at first the relationship was cordial. However, the Spanish expedition's need for fresh food and water quickly led to tension and conflict, the Solomon Islanders’ subsistence economy being unable to provide continuous supplies to the Spanish. Having found no gold and little food, and beset by attacks and sickness, the Spanish colonists shifted their colony to the site of