Local News
Sierra Leone Government warns illicit Coltan miners
By Sayoh Kamara
Nov 8, 2005, 09:22

A press release from the Office of the President of Sierra Leone dated 7th November has issued a stern warning to people currently engaged in the illicit mining of the Columbite-Tantilite, in short referred to as Coltan in the Valunia Chiefdom, in the Bo district. This mineral, said to be in a substantial deposit was first mined in 1954. The mineral, though not popular in Sierra Leone has now attracted a huge number of illicit mining activities. Nothing is known about how it is exported abroad or who is supporting this now excruciating activity. Sections of the press release reads:

These minerals which occur in alluvial deposits are derived from granites, associated with the Sula Mountains – Kangari Hills’ schist belt, ranging from Bo District in the South to Koinadugu District in the Northern Province. The said minerals usually occur together and are therefore known as COLTAN, an abbreviation for COLUMBITE-TANTILITE.

The valuable component in COLTAN is niobium and is produced in a number of African countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Egypt and Tanzania. COLTAN is essential in the manufacture of electrical components such as pinhead capacitors, and they regulate voltage and store energy. COLTAN is also used in a vast array of micro-electronic devices such as in laptop computers and mobile phones, and therefore a highly priced mineral.

The mineral was first mined in 1954 by Mineral Resources Syndicate in the Valunia chiefdom, Bo District when a consignment of 4.25 tons of the crude concentrate was shipped abroad.

Recent investigations have revealed illicit mining of Columbite and that a large-scale illicit mining operation of the said mineral is being carried out under a prospecting licence for gold and another group involved in a similar illicit operation is now known to Government.

Over the past couple of weeks officials of the Ministry of Mineral Resources backed by the Sierra Leone Police made unannounced spot checks at some of these illicit mining sites in the Valunia Chiefdom where they made a number of arrests and seized mining equipment. The suspects are now awaiting prosecution in Bo.

In the Diang Chiefdom, Koinadugu District, similar illicit mining activities have been going on and Government has instructed the police to stop all such illicit activities until investigations are concluded and appropriate legal steps taken to pave the way for normal and legal operations to restart. This will apply both in the Northern and Southern Provinces where illicit mining of COLUMBITE and gold has been reported to be alarming.

Meanwhile the Geological Surveys Department is carrying out further surveys to establish other areas in which COLUMBITE-TANTILITE deposits occur and in what quantities, so that appropriate extractive modalities and marketing strategies, beneficial to the State, could be devised by Government

Until Government pronounces its policy on the mining of these minerals in the affected areas the Inspector-General of Police has been instructed to curb all such illicit mining activities.

All those involved in these illicit mining activities are therefore warned to desist forthwith or face the consequences.