By: OrePulse

Liberia's Minister of Mines and Energy and the head of the national revenue authority said mining contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to government revenue over the past two years, at a government town hall meeting held October 9, 2026, in Tubmanburg City, Bomi County, that also addressed plans for local mineral processing and enforcement against illegal mining.

Minister R. Matenokay Tingban said mining contributed about $121 million to government revenue in 2023 and about $124 million in 2024. "The central question is not simply what we extract. It is how much value remains in Liberia after extraction," Tingban said, adding that jobs, local business participation, and community benefits should also be measured alongside revenue.

Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah said mining accounted for about $432 million of the $1.059 billion in total revenue the authority collected, with domestic taxes contributing about $795 million and customs about $258 million. Jallah said the authority's 2026 domestic revenue target is $1.1 billion and that he expects the target could be exceeded, with collections potentially reaching about $1.3 billion by the end of the year. He said about $5 million in revenue collected in excess of prior-year projections had been added to the current budget.

Officials at the meeting discussed plans to process gold and lead from Grand Kru County and iron ore, including from Grand Gedeh County, along with a proposed gold refinery and a planned state-owned mining company. They also cited a concession agreement with Pivotal valued at more than $200 million, intended in part to improve roads, including feeder roads.

Government representatives described enforcement action against illegal mining in Bomi County, including equipment seizures, and said foreign nationals, including Chinese nationals, were among those involved in illegal mining operations there. Some mining operations were suspended for six months pending a license review, officials said, adding that investigations were continuing and that findings would be made public.

Officials cited mining company ArcelorMittal as an example of a company whose agreement includes social-development provisions, and referred detailed questions about education-related community benefits, including scholarships, to education authorities. Jallah also said the revenue authority launched an online dashboard showing daily revenue collections with downloadable data for public use.