Ahead of the formal commissioning of a new 20Mt capacity concentrator, the President of Liberia, His Excellency Joseph Boakai, and ArcelorMittal executive chairman, Lakshmi Mittal, today attended an inauguration event held at the site of the concentrator in Tokadeh, Nimba County.
Following hot on the heels of ArcelorMittal celebrating 20 years of mining in Liberia, the new state-of-the-art concentrator is claimed to be one of the largest iron ore beneficiation plants in Africa. It is the central component of ArcelorMittal’s US$1.8 billion expansion project in Liberia – bringing the company’s total investment in Liberia to date to approximately US$3 billion – which will see production increase from current levels of 5Mt of iron ore a year, to 20Mt, alongside a significant improvement in product quality to higher-grade, higher-value iron ore.
Speaking at the event, Liberia's President commented: “This level of expansion of investment is a testament to the increasing confidence in the security and well-being of the state, as well as the current state and future direction of this country’s investment climate. This brings great relief to our economy noting that it is impacting the area of job creation. We are informed that this has already created over 5,000 on-site construction jobs and is expected to generate 1,000 permanent job roles upon its completion."
“This level of expansion of investment is a testament to the increasing confidence in the security and well-being of the state, as well as the current state and future direction of this country’s investment climate."
His Excellency Joseph Boakai.
The expansion project also involved investment in accompanying infrastructure assets. The railway from Tokadeh to Buchanan is being upgraded, while a new pier has been added at the port of Buchanan, along with associated material handling infrastructure.
5,000 contractors have been brought in to support the project, in addition to the 2,000 people permanently employed by ArcelorMittal in Liberia.
“We very much enjoy being part of the community and take our responsibility to the country and its people very seriously. Part of this contribution has related to significant infrastructure upgrades, including roads, townships and power generation, which I hope will have a broader positive impact on the local economy."
Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman, ArcelorMittal.
Lakshmi Mittal, said that the state-of-the-art concentrator guarantees the long-term future of mining in Liberia and that ArcelorMittal is proud of the contribution it has made to the country over the past 20 years.
“We very much enjoy being part of the community and take our responsibility to the country and its people very seriously. Part of this contribution has related to significant infrastructure upgrades, including roads, townships and power generation, which I hope will have a broader positive impact on the local economy.
ArcelorMittal has ambitions to further expand capacity at its Liberian mining operations, with plans under development for a phased increase to 30 million tonnes of annual production capacity, and options being studied to produce DRI quality concentrate. The current expansion project has been undertaken with future expansion in mind, with upgrades to the railway already enabling it to transport 30 million tonnes of iron ore annually.