Gerald Group unit to suspend iron-ore mining in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN – SL Mining, a subsidiary of US commodity trader Gerald Group, will suspend iron-ore mining operations in Sierra Leone over a dispute with the government about royalty payments, a company letter seen by Reuters showed on Friday.
SL Mining filed for arbitration last month in an international court against Sierra Leone's government after authorities imposed a ban in July on exports from the company's Marampa mine.
The government says the company has failed to maintain the mine's agreed work schedule or make royalty payments. SL Mining denies the accusation.
A Gerald Group spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter itself, which was sent to mine staff on Thursday.
The spokeswoman said: "The company is disappointed and concerned that the government appears unwilling at present to seriously engage or commit to any process with a view to resolving the unlawful and indefinite export ban."
Sources within Gerald Group said the mine would suspend operations as early as next week, and that nearly 1 000 local employees would be placed on leave.
SL Mining estimates that Marampa holds about 1-billion tonnes of iron-ore with a potential lifespan of 30 years.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation