By: Gabriel B. Sawah, CEMESP/Internews Investigative Journalism Fellow
IPNEWS: It is no secret that the mining sector of Liberia has been exploited for many years by illegal miners, with little or no benefit to the communities in which they operate or to the government.
There are reports that some mining agents and county officials in Rivercess have received bribes from illegal miners to issue them fake licenses, thus defrauding the Liberian government of thousands of dollars, and leaving affected communities without basic social services.
Rivercess County, one of Liberia’s poorest regions in terms of social development, is blessed with rich minerals such as gold and diamonds, but most of these minerals have been exploited by unlicensed miners despite repeated warnings from Superintendent Bismark Karbiah, although the Superintendent himself was heard in a leaked audio a year ago requesting for 27 grams of gold from an unlicensed mining group to carry on exploration.
However, residents and local authorities believe that the Ministry of Mines and Energy agents assigned in the county are to be blamed for the proliferation of unlicensed miners in the County. They accused mining agents of owning gold creeks and also providing fake documents to miners without depositing such funds into the government’s account.
According to Superintendent Bismark Karbiah, his administration is finding it difficult to curtail illicit mining because most of the mining groups operating in the county are operating without acknowledging the local leadership, adding that the Ministry of Mines and Energy agents assigned in Rivercess give out permits to mining companies without a formal communication to his office or even agreement with the communities within which they operate.
“My brother I don’t know why people say we must take drastic actions against mining people in the county, but normally they have never come to the county leadership. They get their license from Ministry of Mines and Energy and move into the county. So, this question concerning illegal mining should be answered by the mining agents” Superintendent Bismark Karbiah emphasized.
Superintendent Karbiah further disclosed that the Ministry of Mines and Energy agents assigned in Rivercess County are not collaborating with his office to fight against illegal mining.
Recently, several angry youths filed a complaint at the Cestos City Magisterial Court against GMCS, a local Chinese Mining Company which arrived in Rivercess to commence mining. They accused the company of collaborating with mining agents and some county officials that misled the citizens to sign agreements which they believe is not in the interest of their communities.
“This company is the same Chinese mining company that signed an agreement with our people and failed to live up to that agreement, and after three years of operation they unceremoniously left the county. They fooled our people to sign,” Stephen Gbasaygee, a member of the agitated youths said.
Like GMCS that is carrying out class “B” mining for gold on the Cestos River in Kolos Town and Doe Town within Yarnee and Timbo Statutory Districts respectively, there are many class “B” companies without proper licenses.
However, circumstances surrounding the case is yet to be established as there are reports that a senior county official and authorities of the Mines Ministry bribed the aggrieved youth to dismiss the case. The youths have however denied these claims and instead blamed mining agents for the proliferation of illicit mining in Rivercess County.
In other parts of the County in places like Morweh, Upper Yarnie and Central Rivercess districts, foreign nationals from Bukina Faso and Sierra Leone are mining at the detriment of the locals while Chinse nationals and Ghanaians are mining on the Cestos River.
One person who feels that mining agents are fully contributing to the situation of illicit mining is a 40-year-old woman who did not want to be identified. She said her husband was mysteriously killed while working with an illicit mining group in Borkon Gold Camp, located in upper Yarnee Statutory District.
She said mining agents are most often seem at gold creeks and extorting money from miners. She said at times miners are even harassed by those agents.
Amos Waih Toee- the head of mining agents in the county who has been accused on many occasions by citizens and even Superintendent Karbiah himself, of masterminding illegal mining in the county declined to speak on the allegations. He instead made reference to the Ministry of Mines and Energy headquarters in Monrovia which he said has told mining agents not to speak to the press.
According to the International Trade Administration, Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining predominantly of gold and diamonds take place in many parts of Liberia, and the sector is poorly regulated and dominated by unlicensed and illegal miners.
Although there have been policies put in place by the government to curtail the exploitation of this sector, these policies seem not to be working, especially in remote parts of the country.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy in collaboration with the African Development Bank in early 2023 published a report examining the expansion of finance access for small-scale mining in a bid to enable regulatory and institutional frameworks within the sub-sector.
The report highlighted the feasibility to support small-scale miners throughout the country through measures aimed at formalizing and de-risking the sub-sector while providing additional support to improve greater financial inclusivity.
If these steps are taken, affected communities are hoping that they will enjoy their resources, but for now, the sector is benefiting people who are seemingly working at the detriment of the government and affected communities.
Most rural communities in Rivercess County are homes to illicit mining camps that have no formal agreement with neither the community nor the government.
