Monrovia — A FrontPageAfrica investigation has found that SOLWAY Mining Group, a Swiss-based mining company with a registered subsidiary in Liberia, would likely lose in its battle with mining giant Arcelor Mittal over encroachment of their two concessions if the case ends up in the Ecowas Court.
Mount Bele Resources had their case dismissed at the ECOWAS Court in 2019 after their exploration license was canceled because their concession area fell within the original LAMCO Concession which was subsequently given under concession to ArcelorMittal Liberia during the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf era.
ArcelorMittal has called on the Weah-led government to revoke the mineral exploration license issued to Solway Mining Group because the company says, it violates their Mineral Development Agreement signed with the government.
The complaint will be decided by the Minister for Mines and Energy. If he rules against ArcelorMittal, the company will have the option of taking the case to the Ecowas Court and the judgement against Mount Bele did may take precedent.
In 2012, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration, with Patrick Sendolo as Minister of Lands, Mines & Energy, granted an iron ore exploration permit to Mount Bele Resources on Blei Community Forest land and a permit to process iron ore tailings in the southwestern portion of the Barcoline community, Nimba County. Upon discovery that the area had been given to ArcelorMittal Liberia, Minister Sendolo under the instruction of former President Sirleaf canceled the exploration permit which eventually landed the case at the ECOWAS Court but was struck out.
Maps and documents available to FrontPageAfrica show that it is the same area that the Weah-led administration has granted an exploration permit to SOLWAY Mining Group for.
According to maps and diagrams of the area, the controversial SOLWAY is encroaching in the same area as the Blei Concession area totaling 5574 ha tied to claim during the Sirleaf wherein iron ore exploration permit was allegedly given to Mount Bele Resources and subsequently canceled due to encroachment.
The diagrams and maps show that there was some overlapping between Blei area concession and Nimba Western area.
The overlap between Blei Concession area with Nimba concession area = 3192 ha;
Blei concession area free and not overlapping with existing ArcelorMittal Liberia concession areas = 1025 ha and Blei Community Forest area inside Blei concession area = 648 ha.
The U.S. State Department 2019 Investment Climate Report recalled that in January 2018, Mount Bele Resources (MBR) Liberia Ltd (MBR) filed an application with the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS seeking redress for what it termed the "arbitrary revocation of [MBR's] Mineral Exploration License without due process resulting [in the] denial of its proprietary rights over same and the loss of USD 21 million investment in the mining industry."
The report further noted in that report: "The U.S. Embassy is aware of unresolved concessions-related land disputes. As firms commence operations, local communities may fear that their lands are being encroached upon, which can lead to disputes, strikes, and sometimes violence. In the interest of minimizing lost productivity and in the absence of government adjudication, companies often make additional community-level payments or agreements to resolve competing land claims. The future enforceability of such agreements is unclear. Prospective investors should not underestimate the potential for costly and complex land dispute issues to arise even after concluding agreements with the government."
The ECOWAS Court with case no. ECW/CCJ/APP/04/18 involving Mount Bele Resources Limited and the Republic of Liberia, the Court granted the plaintiff's notice of discontinuance of the suit, and the case was struck out.
"The Solway License is for Iron Ore and the relevant area is within AM's Concession Area. Accordingly, it is patently clear that the issuance of the Solway License violates AM's exclusive rights under the MDA," AML complained.
"It is therefore of concern that AM (AML) has become aware of the existence of certain agreements that your government has sought to conclude with third parties, as well as certain licenses [issue gave] rise to breaches of AM's rights under the MDA," AML added. "These apparent violations are at odds with the government's legal obligations towards AM and, if remained unaddressed, risk bringing about irreparable harm to AM's current operations and future business plans. Most importantly, they call into question the Government's commitment to its longstanding partnership with AM."
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Solway Mining Group is said to be a subsidiary of Solway Industries Limited that has been licensed by the Liberia Government to undertake iron ore exploration to ascertain the existence, location, quantity, and quality of commercial value of deposits in the exploration area that covers approximately 56 Sq.Km is defined by the UTM coordinates of Spatial Reference.
The granting of an exploration license to the company by the Liberian Government means Solway will explore Mount Mbelle located in Zor Clan, Nimba Third Electoral District and Mount Detton in Sehyi Clan, Nimba Second Electoral District; two areas where significant portions fall within the ArcelorMittal Concession Areas, according to the company.
