News and Events

Minister of Mineral Resources and Director of Mines visit the Koidu Kimberlite Project

by Ibrahim Kamara

Minister of Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh (right), the Director of Mines, Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara (left) visiting the dispensary at the clinic.

Minister of Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh and delegation meet the medical staff and view facilities at the clinic.

Dino Coutinho gives an overview of the No. 1 Pipe vertical pit.

Dino Coutinho explains the plan for the provision of clean bore hole water - a strong borehole has been drilled, pumping/piping equipment and a 32,000 litre prefabricated reservoir purchased and received, awaiting installation.

Minister of Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh talks to the resettled community.

Following formation of the committee to oversee the resettlement process, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Alhaji Abubakarr W. Jalloh, the Director of Mines, Alhaji Usman Boie Kamara, the Government Mining Engineer Kono District, Jonathan Sharkah and other officials from the Ministry of Mineral Resources paid a visit to the Koidu Kimberlite Project on Saturday 19 July 2008.

On their arrival Minister Alhaji Abubakarr Jalloh and his entourage were welcomed to the mine by Dino Coutinho, Acting Mine Manager and National Security Manager, and given an overview of the project, its developments, achievements and the challenges ahead.

The meeting was interactive with the visitors freely seeking clarification and understanding of the issues. Some of concerns raised included the Resettlement Programme and the fate of the UMC School situated on the boundary of the lease area, as well as the fencing of lease area and the proposed diversion of the main road from Gandorhun to Koidu which cuts between the two kimberlite pipes on the property.

Dino Coutinho explained that Koidu Holdings' priority is ensuring that the resettlement programme progresses smoothly and speedily under the management of environmental agency CEMMATS Group, who had been selected for the task by the Company with the support of government and the community. The resettlement programme and the fencing of the licence area are to be carried out simultaneously, with assurances given that all those residents within the area would be allowed access until the time came for them to be resettled. The proposed new roads to be built from Wordu to Korkwoima and Wordu to Kania will improve transport and mobility in the region, the location of which was demonstrated on plan. The benefits of this road diversion were immediately obvious to the delegation.

In response to the Minister's enquiry about the plans that have been made regarding the UMC school, Dino Coutinho told the group that the issue would be addressed by CEMMATS, who would also update the Environmental Impact Assessment and suggest an appropriate solution.

From that point on, the discussion moved onto more technical issues, such as grades of the pipes, the progress made in mapping the dykes and future plans for both Koidu and Tongo.

After a short refreshment break, the group departed for a conducted tour, visiting the clinic, the No. 1 Pipe vertical pit, including visual inspection of the exposed dyke zones A & B around the vertical pit collar level, followed by visits to the Dyke Zone A Blow bulk sample excavation site, No. 2 Pipe, the processing plant and finally the resettlement site. The visitors were visibly impressed with the infrastructure and the level of investment the Company has made. Of all the areas visited, the resettlement site was the one that elicited the most interest from the visitors. The quality of the houses and town planning is among the best in the country, in stark contrast with their misconceptions prior to the visit, formed by certain civil society organisations and media. To investigate claims by some of the affected people that they now had fewer rooms than they had in their previous houses, the officials entered houses and physically counted rooms and chatted with the occupants. They realised that many people tended not to count the sitting rooms, which were absent in most of their previous structures.

The Minister had first hand experience of how inflated expectations were in the area when he spoke to one of the resettled people. He asked the man whether he was satisfied with his house. The man said that he was, but that they needed 24 hour electricity and pipe-borne water. The Minister asked him whether that was the case where he was living before, to which he answered "No". The Minister then explained that the expectations of the people must be realistic.