West Africa-based Marampa Mines Limited (MML), a subsidiary of UK-based Gerald Group, has announced the ratification of its large scale mining agreement (mining licence agreement) by Sierra Leone’s parliament. The company has paid a final installment of $10 million, as part of a fixed sum of $20 million, to the government of Sierra Leone, pursuant to the binding settlement agreement.
The mining licence granted to Marampa Mines is for an initial period of 25 years, renewable thereafter for 15 years. Under the company’s mining obligations, MML will conduct operations to promote the growth of the economy, including integrating the mining operations with other sectors in the country and maximizing local content and the supply chain within Sierra Leone.
Since the company and the government signed the settlement agreement earlier this year, Marampa Mines has successfully exported more than 700,000 mt of iron ore concentrate, restarted production, processing and exports of premium iron ore product, and with the large scale mining agreement coming into effect, MML will ramp up the project, generating significant employment opportunities.