African Minerals on transparency strife
One of the leading Iron Ore mining companies in the country, African Minerals mining company has completed their transparency film show on their operations in the country to stakeholders in their three operational areas in Tonkolili District.
The firm show is aimed at informing the people on the way and manner in which the company operates in the country drew the attention of Paramount chiefs, Stakeholders, Chiefdom elders, youth, women and children in all three chiefdoms including Kafe Simiria, Kalaosongoyia, and Samaya Bendugu Chiefdoms respectively.
The show started in Mabontho village in the Kafe Simiria Chiefdom where Minerals staff began the film show and ended at Bumbuna in the Kalansogoiya Chiefdom.
The Community Liaison Manager Tim Fofana, informed the people that the company is showing this film to people in their operational areas to enable the people and stakeholders with vital information about the company operations and to further explain to them in detail the current position of the Iron Ore in the three districts after their survey and findings.
During the film show the Social and Community Manager for African Minerals, Colin Forbes, said Iron Ore is the main component of steel used to produced different steel metals depending on what you put on it which has to start with what is present in the three chiefdoms.
Mr. Colin Forbes said at present they are trying to engage in mining the first layer with very big trucks which load 300 tonnes of Ore from the mining sites to the plant stockpile loading facilities in Lunsar.
In the area of the standing order of the Ore in the three Chiefdoms, Colin Forbes said, Simbili Hill in Kafe Simiria Chiefdom has 2.5 billion tonnes of iron ore which is estimated at 30.4%, Marampon Hill in the Samaya Bendugu Chiefdom has 0.5 billion tonnes of Ore at 29%, and Numbara in the Kalansongoiya Chiefdom has 2.1 billion tonnes of Ore at 30.2% and they are stretched to 8 kilometers.
The company Social and Community Manager said, their greatest investment will be in Kasafonia which is stretched to 20 kilometers and has a deposited Ore of 5 billion tonnes of potential and he stated that during their drilling 600 meter below, they also discovered a total of 150 kilometers of Iron Ore in the survey.
Since the price of Ore varies from 40 dollars to 150 dollars, Colin said the company need to mine 45 million tonnes of Iron Ore per annum to meet with the company investment plan especially the facts that, the Company have to construct roads for the truck that will be transporting the raw materials from the mining sites to Lunsar, unto Targreen where they are going to build another port for their long term high shipment.
Mr. Colin Forbes states that, their survey had discovered two types of Ore; Magnetite, and Hematite at stated further that they are presently trying to mine the Magnetite which is grey in colour and less in price.
Addressing the benefits African Minerals will give to stakeholders, the Manager went on, the company will create employment as they need about 3 to 4,000 workers, a large scale investment in the country which will bring more investors; they will help in increasing government revenue, the communities, local and regional developments in the areas of schools, health centers, good road networks etc.
Achieving all this is not easy but he advised the people to be creative in finding ways of benefiting from the company noting that they cannot employ everybody at the same time.
The Paramount Chief on behalf of his people in the Kafe Simiria Chiefdom said, if they had known that this was why African Minerals called on them, they should have attended in number noting that the company has demonstrated to them that indeed they are transparent and developmental oriented.
The Chief thanked African Minerals for their venture in investing in the country and in his chiefdom. The Chief prayed for the company to succeed in their investment drive and assured them of his chiefdom total commitment towards development in the country.
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