The community leaders and residents of Nongowa Chiefdom in Kenema District have delivered a strongly worded petition to State House, urging President Julius Maada Bio to overturn the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Hon. Julius Daniel Mattai’s decision to rescind a large-scale mining license previously granted to JM Mining Kenema (SL) Ltd.
In the petition signed by landowners and the Paramount Chief, the chiefdom described JM Mining as a “credible, respectable, and responsible corporate citizen” that has operated in the area for nine years, the company said it invested heavily in exploration, met all contractual obligations, and funded projects in healthcare, education, and agricultural cooperatives.
“We consider them to be credible investors, awaiting the development of the mine to do much more for the larger host setting,” the petition states.
The Ministry revoked the license offer citing alleged non-payment of certain fees within a stipulated period. Community leaders acknowledge JM Mining faced temporary financial difficulties, but say the company has since secured funding and notified the Ministry of its readiness to settle outstanding payments and proceed with mine development.
They argue that withdrawing the offer after nearly a decade of work, and reallocating mineral rights to parties with no prior investment, amounts to a “blatant injustice.”
The petition also names the Ministry and the National Minerals Agency. It alleges officials attempted to impose new investors on the community “based upon a fraudulent misrepresentation of our consent.” According to the signatories, neither landowners nor the Paramount Chief agreed to host the new applicants.
“The pressure to accept these newcomers is most distasteful and unacceptable,” the document reads, adding that the move undermines community rights and the authority of the Paramount Chief and risks creating tensions.
Residents reminded the President of a 25-year surface lease agreement signed with JM Mining in 2023, which they say they intend to honor.
“We are a people of honor, Mr President, and we wish to keep, and not violate, that honor,” the petition notes.
Closing with an appeal to fairness, justice, and mercy, the chiefdom asked the President to weigh JM Mining’s long history of investment and community support, and its current capacity to meet obligations, rather than enforce the decision on strict legal technicalities.
“Let us not turn them away so heartlessly, Mr President,” the letter concludes. “On behalf of the people of Nongowa Chiefdom, Your trusting and supportive subjects.”
For Nongowa leaders, the dispute is framed not simply as a licensing matter, but as a test of whether long-term, community-backed investment will be protected, or displaced in favor of new entrants who, in their view, contributed nothing to the discovery or to the social fabric of the area.
Efforts to contact the Minister for his side of the story prove fruitless as he refused to respond to our calls.