By Mohamed Foday Conteh
National Minerals Agency (NMA) officials during the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Information and Communication in Freetown on Thursday, May 27 2021, have said that the geodata survey will be beneficial to all Sierra Leoneans.
The project, which is being sponsored by the World Bank through its bolstering of Extractive Industry Project in developing countries, is worth $6.5 million.
Deputy Director General of NMA, Kelvin Anderson said that the survey was in tandem with the government’s drive for development. He explained that the survey will position the country on a significant platform for development, employment and economic growth, in line with the government’s aim to increase the benefit of mineral resources for the population.
Director of Technology and Information Management of NMA, Emmanuel Lansana in a power point presentation, described the survey as the measuring of key physical and geometrical parameters of the earth from an aircraft. He stated that conductivity, magnetic, susceptibility, rock density, reflectance spectra and radioactive element concentration, all formed part of the survey.
Lansana continued that the initial dearth of modern geological data was sparse and they used to rely on historical evidence. He said that the survey incorporates 21 tools that have helped in yielding results that are complete, accurate, accessible and available in digital format and which could be delivered instantly on any device, for free. He mentioned the early geological mappings that incorporate geodata done in 1928, the second in 1952 and the third in 1960 – all done with more attention given to the central, northern and southern regions of the country.
Director of UK’s Reid Geophysics Limited, Tim Archer said that Sierra Leone is in a strong position to deliver with regards to precious metals. He acknowledged that the world is in demand of precious battery metals for electric vehicles which could be present in the country. Archer said that Sierra Leone with an improved geological map would be able to know the location of the minerals. He added that some of the data will be on sale in order for NMA to generate funds for further research.
Presenting on pricing and packaging, he said the data will be sold under three categories; National, Sheet and Block. He said the Block category is for academics and is priced at $1,000 with a land mass of 2,500 square kilometres. The National Category is worth the sum of $100,000 and it covers a land mass of 71,700 square kilometres (almost the whole country).
On the issue of data security and transparency, it is said to be safely secured and stored in a vault known only by few NMA staff. Sales from the data is being handled and controlled by the National Revenue Authority (NRA).
The Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Solomon Jamiru, advised NMA to embark on community engagements to ensure that the locals understand the benefit of the geodata. This, he said, will position all to reap its benefit.
The geodata survey was initially designed by Prince Cuffey, Director of Geological Survey and implemented by a South African company which used fixed- wing aircrafts that conducted aerial surveys across the country to assess and locate mineral deposits.
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