News

Revival of the mining sector in Liberia (08/03/2010)

"The mining sector in Liberia mainly comprises of iron, diamonds and gold. The sector is now growing rapidly after years of civil war. Liberia signed a USD 2.6 billion Mineral Development Agreement for iron ore with China Union in January 2009. Until then, the largest investment in Liberia had been USD 1.5 billion by ArcelorMittal, also for iron ore. Gold exports from the country have also started increasing; reached USD 3.6 million at end-June 2009. There are also deposits of bauxite, manganese, columbite, uranium, tantalite, copper, tin, lead and zinc in the country. Before the civil war (1990-2003), iron ore mining was one of the main pillars of Liberia's economy, contributing two-thirds of total exports, half of government revenues and a one-fourth of GDP. "