Why Sierra Leone’s Mining Industry Requires a Robust Environmental Protection Regime

May 13, 2018 | Sonkita Conteh
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As you enter Koidu town in the Kono District of eastern Sierra Leone an impressively large hill rises to the right of the newly constructed thoroughfare, dwarfing the settlements beneath it. But it is not the immense size of the hill alone that makes it such a striking sight; it is the oddness of it. The hill is completely man-made; composed of tailings and residue from nearby open-pit mines. The locals have nicknamed it “Mount Octea” after the company responsible for its formation, Octea Mining Ltd.

Kono is famous for diamonds and Sierra Leone is notorious for its diamond-fuelled civil war. These precious stones have been mined in the country since the 1930s. Earlier last year, a pastor discovered a 709 carat diamond in the east of the district, the second largest ever found in the country. In November 2017, another find of a 476 carat diamond was announced. What is perhaps less publicised is the scale of destruction that the search for these highly prized gems has brought to the environment in the district.

Over the past 10 years, government’s avowed economic strategy has been to transform Sierra Leone to middle income status by 2035 through “responsible natural resource exploitation” by the private sector.However, stand-out examples of large-scale natural resource exploitation in the country have been less than responsible. In addition, dozens of smaller rogue entities have operated beyond the reach of regulation with devastating effect.