Liberia Grants Conditional Reprieve for China Union's Bong Mines

Liberia has conditionally lifted the shutdown order on China Union's Bong Mines. The Environmental Protection Agency had previously closed operations due to environmental violations. China Union now has three months to regularize its operations. This follows the company's $2.6-billion investment in 2008, and its first iron ore shipment in 2014.

Liberia has conditionally lifted a shutdown order on China Union's Bong Mines, the government announced on Wednesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the West African nation had halted operations on Aug. 28, citing multiple environmental breaches. Following China Union's appeal and commitment to comply with regulations, operations are temporarily allowed. The EPA has given the company three months to standardize its activities.

China Union took over the Bong Mines in 2008 with a significant $2.6-billion investment. Although the company made its first shipment in 2014, recent violations had led to the shutdown. Notably, the EPA found the company operating without an effluent discharge license, constructing a plant without a permit, and discharging tailings into a wetland.

Iron resources are plentiful in Liberia, though decades of conflict severely impacted the sector. Production at Bong Mines was notably interrupted during the civil war from 1989-2003.

(With inputs from agencies.)