Leone Rock Metal Group through its subsidiary vehicle, Kingho Mining Company on Thursday, 30th March, 2023, has laid the cornerstone for the construction of a 12 million tons per annum beneficiation plant for its phase 2 stage 2 project as part of the Company’s strategic vertical integration drive. The ceremony was held at the mine site in Ferengbeya, Tonkolili District, Northern Region in the presence of government authorities, community stakeholders, Management & staff of Leone Rock Metal Group & other dignitaries.
The program attracted the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, The Chinese Ambassador, Mr Wang Qing, Leone Rock Metal Group/ Kingho Energy Group President, Mr. Colin Ding, LRMG CEO, Gilbert Zhao, Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Timothy Kabba, the newly appointed CTO, Mr. Salim Sillah, Community Stakeholders among others.
In his statement, His Excellency, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio said that the cornerstone laying ceremony to start the construction of a 12 million metric tons iron ore processing plant, worth $230 million by Leone Rock Metal Group is a big investment in the country & it is in line with the Government’s drive for value addition in the minerals industry. “It is a real pleasure to be here today to jointly celebrate the clear outcomes of the many policies and governance reforms we clearly laid out in our 2018 manifesto for the transformation of the mining sector’, the President remarked. President of Leone Rock Metal Group, Colin Ding, said the 12 million metric tonnes per annum saprolite processing and beneficiation plant is a demonstration of the Company’s aspiration and effort to support the continuous development of the mining industry in Sierra Leone and the creation of a stronger financial contribution to the economy, thereby providing more jobs & more revenue for the government through different tax regimes.
Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Wang Qing, said the mega iron ore processing plant in Sierra Leone, when completed, would be the biggest in West Africa, adding that the success of Leone Rock Metal Group was a demonstration of fruitful, practical, win-win relations. "Since 2010 Leone Rock Metal Group has stood firmly with the Government of Sierra Leone in a bid to transform the mining sector. Irrespective of the many difficulties they had experienced, along with the huge global risks and challenges, the company was resilient enough to invest in the country.