A highly technically skilled Geo-scientist with about three decades working experience in both the private and public sectors, Julius Mattai is one of Africa’s best when it comes to mining and minerals.
Armed with hands-on experiences working in over four different countries, his expertise in, and profound working knowledge and in Environmental and Natural Resources Management; Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing; Management Information Systems (MIS); Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); Energy and Climate Change (Mitigation and Adaptation); Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Risk Management; Health Information Systems (HIS); Geology and Mineral Exploration stands him out from the crowd. As Minister of Mines and Minerals Resources, Hon. Mattai has been working assiduously to transform Sierra Leone’s mining sector for profitability, broad-based socio-economic growth and development, mining community development, health &safety, and in line with global best practices.
Julius holds two MSc degrees (both with Distinctions) in Environmental & Earth Resources Management (2001, UK) and Geology & Exploration for Mineral Deposits (1992, Ukraine). In this interview, he takes us through mining in Sierra Leone. Excerpts:
The mining sector is the mainstay of Sierra Leone’s economy. How’s your ministry exploring innovative solutions to derive more from the country’s mineral resources?
I do agree that the mining sector is the mainstay of the economy because when you consider the last year of 2023, the mining sector was responsible for almost 85% of total export from Sierra Leone, worth nearly USD$1.2 billion. It goes without saying that that contributes immensely to balance of payment which helps keep the economy buoyant. As a ministry, we are making sure that we keep abreast of all the technological advances that are taking place. We are also keeping abreast of all the regulatory and legislative visions or directives that are emanating within the sub-region on the African continent.
First, as part of the bigger picture, we have imbibed the African Mining Vision which came into effect in 2009, and trying to domesticate it to ensure we derive enough revenue from the extractive sector for broad-based socio-economic development. And our policies are in line with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the ECOWAS Directive on the Harmonization of Guiding Principles and Policies for the Mining Sector. We are also leveraging technology as best as possible, especially when it comes to smart mining and also regulating and making sure the mining companies are doing the right things right.
What of the innovations and applications of technology?
The technical wing of the ministry which is the National Minerals Agency has actually established very creative and innovative solutions using the latest technology, including an enterprise Geoscientific Information Management System (eGIMS). For example, after the nationwide airborne geophysical survey, that was completed in 2020/2021, we developed a web-based geoscientific portal that is accessible via various applications, be it mobile, desktop or, server application at any time at any place. This means investors don’t need to come to Sierra Leone to browse through the nationwide airborne geophysical and geological datasets. And then, of course, we embedded functionalities that will allow various stakeholders to browse and visualize these datasets and maps and make decisions. Also, in terms of working with the mining companies, those especially that export bulk minerals like, iron ore, bauxite, heavy mineral concentrates and rutile, we’ve also established an application to track the vessels that do come to collect the mineral products, making sure when they book their shipment schedule, we know where the ships are coming from their destination, how long it takes.
We also do sampling and qualitative and quantitative assessment in situ and use various bespoke applications to ensure that the mineral products that are taken out of the country are correctly assessed in terms of the grade, water content, and other chemical composition to enable us to reconcile provisional and final invoices for royalty assessments and payments to the government.
The Big Five Game Changers are the pillars on which the government hope to transform the country. What’s the role of the mining sector in realizing that?
When you look at the Big Five Game Changers, it is quite interesting because to us, the mining sector is an enabler; it cuts across all of these. Because the revenue that is generated from the mining sector feeds into all of these Big Five Game Changers, especially when the government developed Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024 – 2030. That’s our compass for national development. In there, it’s very clear that the mining sector is under Part 3:Enablers of the Big 5 Game Changers: Value addition and efficient management of natural resources. It goes without saying that Sierra Leone is not highly industrialized. We export most of our commodities in the raw form with little or no value addition. Nonetheless, the revenue that accrues from the mining sector enables the government to fund most of the development activities across all sectors.
One of the things I keep telling people as well is that when we did the nationwide airborne geophysical survey, we used two sensors only — radiometrics and magnetic. That survey also provided digital elevation model sand satellite imageries that give us data and information about the topography and landcover of Sierra Leone that could be also used in tandem with the radiometric data for agricultural research because it tells which particular areas are water-logged, rich in certain minerals and the geomorphology of those areas, for example, in land valley swamps, where rice cultivation is more favourable. So, when we did the nationwide airborne geophysical survey, it was not only for mining but also for agriculture, water resource management, geotechnical and infrastructural development.
In terms of human capacity development, which HE President Bio is very keen on, we have come up with very creative syllabus in academia. With the mining sector booming, there’s a demand for young men and women with the requisite knowledge and skills to contribute to the development of the country.
When it comes to infrastructure and technology, as I mentioned earlier, we’re leveraging technology to ensure that we streamline our business processes in more efficient and effective ways. At the same time mining-related infrastructure helps a lot. For example, the only functional rail in this country – the 200-km railway running from the Tonkolili Iron Ore Deposita to the Pepel Port is primarily used to transport iron ore for export. But last year, we signed a Lease Agreement with the Kingho Railway and Port Services (SL) Ltd/Leone Rock Metal Group to ensure it is opened up to multi-use assess and it can also be used to transport mining and agricultural products, machinery and fuel to supply agribusinesses and other users.
What are the specific incentives directed at foreign investors in the mining sector and to what extent would you say they are getting expected results?
Foreign direct investment is something we have always attracted, not only in mining but in agriculture, manufacturing and service industry. But there is a uniqueness about mining. Mining is one of those peculiar sectors where you bring your investment where the mineral resources are located, even if it’s in the remotest areas of the country. In order to attract foreign investors to Sierra Leone, we definitely have to ensure that the legislative and regulatory frameworks and investment environment are stable, secure, predictable, transparent and also make sure we all work from a win-win perspective – a win for the investors, a win for the mining communities, and a win for the government.
Above all, beyond the quality and the quantity of the mineral deposits, which for me are the most crucial aspects of mining investments, we also have to ensure our mining and investment policies and legislative frameworks are right, clear, consistent, equitable, easily applicable and devoid of inconsistencies, duplications, contradictions and overlaps, taking into consideration that the mining sector is governed by so many laws and regulations – environmental, tax and fiscal, water, energy, customs and excise, local content, etc. But most importantly, foreign investors want to ensure that their mining concessions are secured without fear of expropriation by the government and that we have stable and peaceful environment.
We are also making sure our mining and mining-related laws and tax regime are very clear and predictable, especially when it comes to the fiscal and/or legal stabilizations negotiated and agreed upon in, the various mining lease agreements (MLAs)/ extractive industries agreements (EIAs) between the government and the large-scale mining companies currently operating in Sierra Leone. Surely, investors need to be assured that, the government might not just wake up one day and unilaterally change the terms and conditions in these MLAs and EIAsm. Hence, we now ensure that all MLAs/EIAs go through thorough scrutiny in cabinet before taken to parliament for ratification. These ratified MLAs/EIAs are mostly, long-term, for 20 or 25 years.
The banking system in the country is also working well. Over the last few years, the government has ensured its fiscal and monetary policies are well aligned to attract and retain foreign direct investments into the country.
What efforts have been made on capacity building and skills transfer?
This is something mentioned in the African Mining Vision of 2009 where it says local participation in the entire value chain of the mining sector is key to achieving broad-based socio-economic development. I mean value addition upstream, downstream, and side stream across the entire mining value chain – from exploration, mineral extraction, processing, manufacturing, use and re-use/recycling. Over the past nine decades, Sierra Leone has only focused on the exploration and mineral extraction aspects of the mining value chain– exporting only the raw minerals/mined resources, without or with very minimal beneficiation.
The Local Content Agency Act 2016 was enacted to ensure that local entities fully participate in the entire value chain of various sectors of the economy, including mining. However, for some historical reasons, there has never been a level-playing field for both local and foreign investors in the mining sector. For example, in the large-scale mining sub-sector, access to commercial loans from international and national financial institutions for investment in the mining sector is almost impossible for local investors in Sierra Leone while foreign investors have easy access to low interest commercial loans from international and national financial institutions in their countries of origin or other foreign jurisdictions.
So how has the sector accommodated local investors?
Local investors in the mining sector are also often handicapped by the lack of knowledgeable, professional and skilled labour force, as well as productivity tools and machinery for efficiency, especially in the large-scale mining sub-sector. Foreign investors, on the other hand, are very competitive and favoured because they can pay higher wages and attract the best mine developers, lawyers, consultants and skilled labour force and bring them into the country. This somehow is disadvantageous to the local investors because even if they have similar mining concessions, the foreign investors are more likely to operate profitably and successfully. So, it is imperative we introduce policies to ensure that indigenes and local investors have equitable and fair access to low interest loans from financial institutions, skilled and professional labour force, and machinery for increased productivity and efficiency. I reckon it is time we take affirmative actions to legitimately skew some advantages in favour of the indigenes and local investors by providing access to low interest loans without compromising financial transparency and accountability. We also have to depoliticize the mining sector because incumbent political elites often tend to blindly favour their own political party members and supporters even when they don’t meet the legal requirements for holding a mining licence or the requisite resources – human, financial and technical.
One other thing we’re trying to do is to introduce mining as a subject into the secondary school curriculum, as part of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) package so that our boys and girls will have an early and proper understanding of what the mining sector and value chain are all about.
Where do you see Sierra Leone’s mining sector in the next five years?
Mining in Sierra Leone started in the 1920s but the country is still under-explored. Over the past nine decades, we have just been mining the same deposits and basket of minerals – diamond, gold, bauxite, iron ore and rutile in the same places. As previously mentioned, the interpretation results from the nationwide airborne geophysical survey indicate the potential occurrences of some critical/energy transition minerals in Sierra Leone, which, if confirmed in economically minable quantity and quality, will positively reshape the character and landscape of the mining sector in Sierra Leone for the unforeseeable future.
Once the successful discovery and confirmation of our mineral resources and ore reserves are done, my belief is that in the next five years, Sierra Leone would be a very attractive destination for further mining investments, especially for the energy transition minerals. We are currently accepting applications and issuing exploration licences to interested mining investors, specifically for lithium, nickel, coltan and tin. So, with all the new laws and regulations we have just enacted, coupled with the technological improvements we are making and the rising global demand for the energy transition minerals, I foresee a major boom and an exponential growth in our mining sector by 2030. By the way, we have one of the largest iron ore deposits (Tonkolili Iron Ore Deposit) on the African continent -–about 13.8 billion tonnes of iron ore in the Tonkolili District of Sierra Leone, with a mine life of over 60 years. This deposit is currently being exploited by Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG) with ongoing beneficiation on site and further value addition activities like processing and steel manufacturing planned for implementation in the next 5 to 10 years. This will undoubtedly create further jobs and boost the economy.
I am very optimistic in the next five years, the mining sector will be booming. In 2023, the total value of mineral exported from Sierra Leone was about USB$1.2 billion; in 2022, it was about USD 900 million; and in 2021, it was about USD 560 million. My prediction is that in 2024 that figure will increase to around USD 2 billion. With the increasing level of mineral exploration and exploitation, especially in the iron ore sector, I believe the total value of mineral export from Sierra Leone will be around USD $5 billion by 2029 – a game changer for Sierra Leone’s mining sector, thanks to the astute and transformational leadership of HE President Dr Julius Maada Bio and the followership of the people of Sierra Leone.