President Koroma upbeat about African Minerals prospects

President Ernest Bai Koroma yesterday Friday 22^nd January 2010 formally commissioned the operations of African Minerals Limited for the mining of the multi-billion-tonne iron ore deposits in Tonkolili, northern Sierra Leone.  Addressing hundreds of attendees, including Cabinet Ministers, MPs, religious leaders, traditional elders, journalists, local authorities, and indigenes on top of the hills of Ferengbeya village, Bumbuna, President Koroma said it was a big day for all Sierra Leoneans.

He started off by sympathizing with the victims of an inferno that gutted 19 houses in the area two days before, assuring that government will help reduce the burden of the loss, and revealing that African Minerals have also pledged to contribute in assuaging the situation.

The President said the occasion was a twin programme in the sense that he was commissioning and inspecting the work of African Minerals, while at the same time launching the road construction that would start next week. He said the Executive Chairman of African Minerals, Frank Timis, had made big pronouncements in the presence of top government officials with confidence that there would be an onward progress in the company’s operations, which he would publicly demonstrate next week by making a public announcement about the Tonkolili iron ore deposits, the largest mine in Africa, one of which would be that exporting of the iron crust would start by the end of this year and that the iron ore itself would be exported by 2013. President Koroma told his audience that, before such major activities would commence, the road from Ferengbeya to Lunsar and the rail to Pepel would have been constructed. He said, according to projections, there would be annual export of 43 million tonnes of iron ore annually.

President Koroma noted that for far too long now Sierra Leone has been known as a mineral-rich nation, but that unfortunately the country and the people have nothing to show for that. He said his government had to promulgate a new mines policy, which is a step in the right direction to make Sierra Leone a better place:  “As President, and as a government, we will change the way things used to be done…The days when the people’s interests are not protected are over.”

The Head of State said he had messages for both African Minerals and the people of Sierra Leone, especially the indigenes of Ferengbeya.

According to the President, reports from the Paramount Chief of the area, the MP, and other people indicate that African Minerals is doing a good work by respecting the environment and meeting their corporate social responsibility. “I hope they will continue on this path of building schools, health centres, and boosting agricultural production, especially for those not benefiting directly from African Minerals,” the President said, hoping that it would be a sustainable social-service provision. He called on the company not to use Sierra Leone as a mere transit point for big companies, emphasizing on the need to promote and develop indigenous contractors and businesses in procurement and supply in areas where expatriate technicalities are not required, putting premium on promoting the local private sector. “In five to ten years, Sierra Leone should be different from what it is today. We cannot be the owners of the biggest iron ore mine in Africa and have nothing to show for it. I will continuously engage African Minerals to ensure that this happens.”

To the people of Sierra Leone, especially those at Ferengbeya, the President said there should be calm and understanding, even as he had started hearing about disputes over ownership of the land where the company is operating. He warned against undermining the operations of the mine, and to always find legal and amicable solutions to differences: “This country will not develop without discipline. Anyone caught trying to deliberately under the company’s activities will face the full force of the law…This is an opportunity for all of us in Sierra Leone, this is an opportunity to change this country and ensure that everyone benefits from our God-given resources… Tonkolili is at the centre of Sierra Leone… so everything is at the centre, but it is not only Tonkolili that should benefit from this. This is not only a Tonkolili affair. It is a national asset.”

The President reminded his audience that mineral deposits diminish and depreciate in quantity; therefore the revenue accrued from them should be utilized “to protect ourselves, develop our country, and leave a legacy for our children in next generations…This mine can only last for about 80 years, after that all these hills may not be standing here… We therefore have to work towards making every other activity sustainable.”

The President said he was extremely delighted that the country and the company have reached this point, stating that “if we all work together, we will make this country different; we will make it, as the Executive Chairman has mentioned, the Switzerland of Africa. But this can only be possible if we change our attitudes.” He ended by challenging African Minerals to make real their pronouncements, which have been received with great hopes and should be translated into concrete action: “Thank you all, and God bless mother Sierra Leone.”

The President and entourage were taken on a conducted tour of the operational areas after a slide-show presentation of the ‘Tonkolili Early Cash Flow Project’.

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