Monrovia, Liberia – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has issued a decision to temporarily relax the embargo on the export of Heavy Metal Sand (HMS) in order to clear stocks and verify exporters’ compliance, according to the Executive Mansion.
According to an Executive Mansion news release, this order would provide licensed HMS exporters who had prepared shipments prior to the ban with a sixty (60) day grace period to export their already-packaged and packed HMS.
“This temporary measure, effective immediately, is designed to facilitate the clearing of stockpiled materials while ensuring that all future HMS exports comply with the updated regulations issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy,” the Executive Mansion’s press release said.
“These regulations are designed to strengthen our resource governance framework, ensuring that our natural resources contribute meaningfully to Liberia’s economic development and benefit all Liberians,” President Boakai said in a statement released by the Executive Mansion.
President Boakai has studied and supported the new HMS regulations. It is an important step toward better administration and control of Liberia’s HMS sector. The regulations have two important provisions: Restricted Licensing and Increased Royalty Payments.
HMS mining licenses will be limited to a maximum of three operators in order to improve monitoring and ensure simplified and effective government tax collection, according to the Executive Mansion.
Also, exporters would be forced to pay an 8% advance fee, up from 3% before, indicating the government’s commitment to ensure equitable distribution of natural resource earnings, according to the Executive Mansion.
The President’s instruction has been delegated to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Liberia Revenue Authority, and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP). The President emphasized the administration’s commitment to supporting sustainable and transparent resource management methods.
