Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Mattai has hailed Marampa Mines during the Tuesday weekly government press briefing held in the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, at Tower Hill, Freetown, that the company has proved itself over the years, adding that last year they did almost 2.5Million tons of iron ore worth over $228M and that the royalty paid to government was in excess of $12M together with Kingho and that the company is meeting their obligations according to law.
He added that any company which proves itself to be worthy both technically and financially, it is the business of the Sierra Leone Government to encourage such a company. He added that between Kingho and Marampa Mines, they paid up to $12.8 million in terms of revenue to the government.
He said that as far as they are concerned, Marampa Mines is on record for being the single mining company that has and continues to be paying the highest in terms of royalties and surface rent to government.
The Mines Minister further added that the government is yet to hear from Sierra Rutile concerning the proposed bid from Craig Dean’s PRM and that there is no question about monopoly because Sierra Rutile is engaged in bauxite mining whilst Marampa Mines is engaged in bauxite mining. He maintained that the Government of Sierra Leone is looking for investors and that they would in no way discourage serious and genuine investors.
It could be recalled that under Craig Dean, MML has paid a total of approximately US$40 million to the Government of Sierra Leone in 2022 and 2023. This amount includes both taxes and royalties owed under MML’s agreement.
This is in addition to an approximately US$1.74 million payment made in 2023 to the Community Development fund established for the Marampa and Maforki Chiefdoms. It is a similar payment will be made in 2024. Also, MML’s contractors and vendors are legally obligated to pay additional taxes to the Government of Sierra Leone.
