President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's newly established National Task Force to Combat Illicit Mining Activities has received strong backing from the Liberia Chamber of Mines, as industry leaders and governance advocates warn that illegal mining has evolved into one of the country's most pressing environmental, economic and national security challenges.
The Chamber's endorsement follows the issuance of Executive Order No. 167, which establishes the "Protect Our Resources Taskforce," a multi-agency body charged with investigating illicit mining operations, coordinating enforcement actions, confiscating equipment used in illegal mining, facilitating arrests and prosecutions, and strengthening oversight of Liberia's mineral resources.
In a statement signed by its President, Amara Kamara, the Liberia Chamber of Mines described the Executive Order as "a timely and significant step toward restoring order, accountability, and responsible governance within the mining sector."
"This decisive action reflects strong national leadership and demonstrates the Government's commitment to protecting Liberia's mineral resources, strengthening the rule of law, and promoting a responsible, transparent, and sustainable mining sector," the Chamber said.
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The Chamber argued that illicit mining has become one of the greatest threats facing Liberia's extractive sector, depriving government of much-needed revenue, undermining legitimate investment, weakening investor confidence, and accelerating environmental degradation.
President Boakai's decision comes amid mounting evidence that artisanal and small-scale mining is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with increasing mechanization, expanding river-based dredging and weakening regulatory oversight raising concerns far beyond traditional mining communities.
A February 2026 monitoring report by Integrity Watch Liberia concluded that artisanal mining has evolved from a largely subsistence activity into a more commercially organized industry characterized by expanding river-based mining operations, increasing use of mechanized equipment under artisanal licenses, governance vulnerabilities and growing environmental damage.
The report documented active dredging operations along the Tuma River Belt in Gbarpolu County and sections of the St. Paul River Basin in Bong County, where floating dredging platforms extract sediment directly from riverbeds. Investigators observed that rivers once relied upon for fishing, transportation and household water are increasingly being transformed into active mining corridors.
Among its most significant findings, Integrity Watch reported that operations licensed as Class C artisanal mines are increasingly employing mechanized dredging equipment typically associated with Class B mining, effectively blurring the legal distinction between artisanal and mechanized mining and weakening environmental safeguards built into Liberia's licensing regime.
The monitoring exercise also found widespread environmental degradation, including heavily sedimented rivers, declining fish populations, abandoned excavation pits and degraded farmlands. Community members interviewed by researchers said mining activities have significantly reduced fish catches in areas where dredging has intensified, threatening food security and traditional livelihoods.
Beyond the environmental concerns, the report paints a troubling picture of governance within the sector. It cites weak enforcement capacity, limited transparency surrounding mining licenses, the emergence of informal financial systems and perceptions of inconsistent regulatory oversight. While noting that allegations of informal payments and rent-seeking could not be independently verified through documentary evidence, the report says recurring stakeholder accounts highlight governance vulnerabilities requiring stronger institutional oversight.
Perhaps most significantly, the report warns that continued expansion of unregulated river-based mining could have implications extending well beyond mining communities. Researchers caution that disturbances within tributaries feeding the St. Paul River system may eventually pose risks to water resources and critical national infrastructure, including the Mount Coffee Hydropower Plant, underscoring the need for better management of mining activities before localized environmental degradation becomes a broader national concern.
The Liberia Chamber of Mines echoed many of those concerns, saying illicit mining not only destroys ecosystems and pollutes waterways but also contributes to insecurity, school dropouts and the erosion of sustainable livelihoods within mining communities.
The Chamber pledged to work closely with the National Task Force, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, licensed mining companies, development partners, traditional leaders, civil society organizations and affected communities to ensure effective implementation of the Executive Order.
It also called for sustained enforcement of mining laws, greater public awareness, stronger community engagement and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders to eliminate illicit mining and build a mining sector that is lawful, transparent and beneficial to all Liberians.
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The Chamber stressed that while some individuals may profit from illegal mining in the short term, Liberia ultimately bears the long-term costs through lost public revenue, environmental destruction, weakened investor confidence and diminished opportunities for sustainable economic growth.
Executive Order No. 167 represents the Boakai administration's most comprehensive effort to date to confront illicit mining through a coordinated, multi-agency approach. Whether the new Task Force succeeds, however, may depend on its ability not only to enforce existing laws but also to address the governance weaknesses, regulatory gaps and economic incentives that have allowed illegal mining to flourish across parts of the country.
For Liberia, the challenge extends beyond protecting gold deposits. It is about ensuring that the country's mineral wealth contributes to national development rather than environmental degradation, lost public revenue and weakened confidence in the institutions responsible for managing one of Liberia's most valuable natural resources.
