Liberia to require local gold refining before export
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Liberian Investigator
Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai says gold mined in the country will have to be refined locally before export, and plans a processing facility within two years. He has also proposed a sovereign wealth fund financed by a fixed share of mining revenues and a state mining company, according to his opening address at Liberia’s mining and energy conference.
Liberia will require gold mined in the country to be refined locally before export, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai announced on Wednesday at the opening of the International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition in Monrovia. The country plans to build a gold processing plant within two years, according to The Liberian Investigator.
The measure will require new mining operators first to comply with national primary and secondary refining requirements, until internationally recognised purity standards are reached. Joseph Boakai also announced the creation of a sovereign wealth fund financed by a fixed share of mining revenues and a state mining company that will take stakes in projects rather than rely solely on royalties.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Matenokay Tingban, said the national mining company would still need to obtain legal and institutional approvals. Its commercial activities would have to remain separate from the ministry’s regulatory functions to avoid conflicts of interest, he said.
Joseph Boakai also promised that mining towns would no longer be abandoned after deposits were depleted, citing Yekepa, Mano River and Bong Mines as examples of “ghost towns”. He urged investors to act honestly and ensure Liberians also benefit from resource extraction.
The announcement comes two days after Liberia’s $35 million investment in oil storage, announced on 27 October. It follows President Joseph Boakai’s economic announcements in the natural resources sector.
