28 October 2019
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has commenced a rigorous exercise aimed at fixing and formalizing the Artisanal Small Scale Mining (ASM) sub-sector of Liberia. A road map has been developed which will require collect efforts of the local government, law enforcement authorities and private citizens.
Towards this end, the following decisions have been taken.
- With immediate effect, the use of dredges on all water bodies within our borders for mining of Gold and Diamonds is hereby banned
- A training program for mining agents and mineral inspectors has been approved and its now being rolled out
- The institution of a training in Smart Mining Techniques for local miners has commenced around the national parks and protected areas. This would be replicated across Liberia for the purpose of land reclamation
- A moratorium on the issuance of new Class C licenses will be instituted
- A ban on the use of mercury to recover gold will be robustly reinforced and violators will be severely prosecuted in keeping with law
- No field personnel from the Ministry of Mines and Energy should henceforth collect any fees whatsoever in the execution of their duties
- The Ministry in collaboration with the National Identification Registry (NIR) has begun the issuing ASM ID cards to all mining actors. We want to encourage each and every mining actor to obtain their ASM ID Card.
Therefore, we hereby advise all legitimate miners and citizens of the area where these activities are prevalent to report any case of such as violators will be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, the Ministry, with support from the World Bank and FDA is implementing activities under the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP). These activities have led to the formation of seven (7) mining cooperatives in Gbarpolu, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh Counties. These mining cooperatives have benefited from the Smart Mining Techniques (SMT).
