By Richmond B Tholley
According to multiple sources, more than twenty local miners were arrested in the afternoon hours of Friday, December 22nd, 2023, around the operational areas of the Rock Metal Group in Tonkolili District, Northern Sierra Leone.
A joint team of the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Arm Forces, a source said stormed the mining site around the operational areas of the company and arrested several local miners.
The miners arrested were all from the relocated communities of Ferengbeia, Wondugu, and Foria.
According to residents of the said communities, they were relocated to the new settlement with no provision of some basic facilities like water and lands to do their agricultural activities.
To fend for themselves, the villagers argued that they had to go to the mining sites to engage in small scale mining.
When contacted to ascertain the authenticity of the story, the Leone Rock Metal Group Community Affairs Manager confirmed the arrest to be true, but he said the action was meant to protect the local miners.
Robert Salia Kamara said the arrest was done by the Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Arm Forces led by the Assistant Inspector General of Police in the Northeast region and the Brigade Commander of the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Makeni.
The arrest, Salia added, was in the best interest of the locals.
“Currently,” the Manager said, “the Company is blasting around the concession areas, and they have engaged members of the affected communities to stay away from the area for their safety.”
Unfortunately, he said they learned lately that the local miners are still going to the prohibited areas to do mining.
“The company would be held responsible should there be any danger to any of those locals engaging in mining around the concession areas,” Salia noted.
He said that those arrested would be released and strictly warned.
Those arrested were confirmed to have been moved to the Magburaka Police Station.
The Sierra Leone Police and the Republic of Sierra Leone Arm Forces were not immediately available for comment.
