By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Kingho Mining, a subsidiary of the Chinese group Kingho Investment Company Limited, has taken over the Tonkolili Mines after months of tripartite negotiation which involved the Government of Sierra Leone, the Chinese Embassy and the company officials. The takeover was completed at a ceremony held in the northern town of Bumbuna and later at the mining site on Wednesday.
The takeover was preceded by the Government of Sierra Leone’s decision to invoke Section 50 of the 2009 Mines and Minerals Act and possessed properties of the now defunct Shandong Iron and Steel, which had been working on the site for the last five years.
The most valuable assets among the lots are the ports and railway system that was installed by African Minerals Limited. Its estimated value is up to US$1 billion; two facilities which government said will now be opened for use by all other mining companies operating in the region.
Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Timothy Kabba, told journalists on Wednesday that this was the beginning of a big revival for the sector.
“It means a lot, it’s the rejuvenation of the mining sector, it has been quiet for some time now which has had negative impact on the general employment of our people and has also had a very severe notch on the economy, being that our economy is largely dependent on natural resources,” he said.
“This restart promises the people of this country employment, throughout the value chain, and it also promises the government of its deserving revenue which the government will use to diversify our economy,” Kabba added.
Chief Executive Officer of Kingho Mining, Gilbert Zhao, promised a prosperous future for residents in the township of Bumbuna and the mining sector.
Mr Zhao said opportunities will be created for all.
“In line with the Government’s local Content Policy and other key government regulations, we have recruited and in the process of recruiting qualified Sierra Leoneans that will hopefully add value to the organization and bring this project to fruition. We will transform the labor market by empowering citizens at local and national level. We believe that the human resources are our greatest assets,” Zhao said.
Zhao said the company is already targeting December this year to export its first shipment of iron ore.
In the short to long term, officials of the company said the mine will create between two to four thousand jobs. Community people called for most of the jobs to be given to young men and women in the area and the district.
Kingho’s takeover of the Tonkolili Iron Ore project has not come without controversy. Just over three weeks ago officials from the National Minerals Agency were grilled by Parliamentarians on how the process of awarding them the mining license was done.
Before operations start proper, the agreement between the mining company and the government will go to Parliament as per procedure for some more scrutiny.
Chairman of the Mines and Minerals Committee in Parliament, Saa Emerson Lamina, told Politico that questions will be answered before works starts proper.
“The agreement will be looked at in Parliament; we will look at the pros and the cons. It is important we seek the interest of the people and get a deal that will benefit them,” the Coalition for Change party lawmaker said.
The handing over ceremony has given Bumbuna community some much needed life. On Wednesday, the town was in jubilant mood with chiefdom authorities and township members in festive mood.
This town and district has watched Shandong and African Minerals Limited come, operate and collapsed, all in the space of a decade.
Those failures have left this community and the others surrounding it broken and desperate.
The Paramount Chief of Dansongia Cheifdom, which covers Bumbuna, Alimamy Koroma, said things are so bad that some people have now turned to violent crime as a solution.
“We have social pressure. This is a dangerous place now because there is no security,” Chief Koroma said.
Koroma and other local authorities said they can’t wait for work to start.
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