Liberia closes China Union's Bong Mines for violations, regulator says
Adds details about mines, paragraph 2, comments from agency paragraphs 3-6
MONROVIA, Aug 29 (Reuters) -Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency shut down on Wednesday the operations of China Union's iron ore Bong Mines for violating several environmental regulations, the regulatory agency said on Thursday.
China Union took over the Bong Mines, located around 150 km (94 miles) northeast of the capital Monrovia, with a $2.6-billion investment in 2008. It made its first shipment of iron ore in 2014.
The agency said it shut down Bong Mines for operating without an effluent discharge license, building a processing plant without a permit and discharging tailings into a wetland.
It said it had flagged these violations twice since June and fined the company, to which it did not respond.
"China Union blatantly ignored the EPA warnings and continued to operate without any environmental permits, continuing its environmental degradation and pollution," the agency said in a statement.
The shutdown will remain in force "until full compliance is achieved and the identified environmental concerns are duly addressed", it added.
China Union could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.
Iron is abundant in Liberia but the sector was decimated by decades of under-investment. Production at the Bong Mines stopped during a conflict that lasted from 1989 to 2003.
Reporting by James Harding Giahyue
Writing by Sofia Christensen; editing by Diane Craft and Rod Nickel
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
