Elenilto Mineral Mining Ltd, a subsidiary of Israel-based EngelInvest Group, has won the rights to develop a $1.6 billion iron ore project in Liberia.
According to reports by Israeli and international press, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced in her annual speech on Thursday the granting of a 25-year license for the Western Cluster iron ore deposits, one of the largest iron ore mining sites in the world. "We have finally come to closure on the concession bid for the Western Cluster iron ore deposits," she declared.
The tender includes a group of three mines, two of which were previously mined by major companies, with reserves of over 1.1 billion mt of iron ore.
EngelInvest Group chairman Jacob Engels, as reported by Israeli press, said that in return for the license, Elenilto will pay Liberia an advance payment of $25 million, annual payments of $3 million a year as ‘social payments' and 21 percent of the profits.