Mines and Energy Ministry Closes Bounteous Mining Company for Illegal Operations in Grand Gedeh

By: Ben TC Brooks| Correspondent

Grand Gedeh County – May 24, 2025 – In its ongoing campaign against illegal mining across the country, the Ministry of Mines and Energy has halted the activities of an unauthorized mining operation of Bounteous Mining Company in Konobo Sayoubo Town, Grand Gedeh County.

The Ministry’s Compliance Enforcement Team, which includes mining engineers, geologists, and environmentalists, discovered that Bounteous Mining Company was conducting mining activities without the necessary permits from the Ministry of Mines and Energy or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Investigations indicated that the operations of the illegal company were inflicting significant harm on the banks of the Cavalla River, an international waterway that separates Liberia from Ivory Coast.

The Ministry’s enforcement actions revealed collaboration between local Liberians and illegal Chinese miners.

These miners, who began their operations in 2024 at an abandoned artisanal site known as ‘Jamaica,’ moved to Konobo Sayoubo Town in 2025 after exhausting the mineral resources at the Jamaica site. Sayoubo is near the Cavalla River, became their new focus for their illegal exploitative venture.

The Compliance Enforcement Team identified that the five illegal Chinese miners were the main operators of the fraudulent Bounteous Mining Company.

Upon the team’s arrival at the site, the Chinese workers fled into the surrounding bushes, leaving behind more than twenty local workers they have already hired on a daily basis.

The Ministry, with support from the Liberia National Police (LNP), has confiscated all mining equipment belonging to the illegal operators. The unlicensed Bounteous Mining Company is reportedly led by a woman named Beatrice Cooper.

These violations of the Minerals and Mining Law but also the Environmental Protection Laws of Liberia, are not only harming the environment but also depriving the Liberian government of crucial needed revenue to fund development initiatives outlined in the national development strategy known as the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).

Edited: Jesefu Morris Keita |Editor-In-Chief