MONROVIA – Following high-level diplomatic talks in neighboring Guinea, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has issued an pressing enchantment to the Liberian Senate to ratify the Third Modification to the Mineral Improvement Settlement (MDA) with ArcelorMittal.
By Rodney D Sieh, [email protected]
Diplomatic Technique in Conakry
The home push follows a strategic assembly on the margins of Guinean President Mamady Doumbouya’s inauguration on January 17, 2026. President Boakai and the Liberian delegation met with Nicholas Checker, the U.S. State Division’s Senior Bureau Official for African Affairs, and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Mary Daschbach.
Throughout the dialogue, President Boakai confirmed a December 2025 cellphone name from U.S. President Donald Trump, wherein the American chief explicitly requested Liberia’s help for ArcelorMittal’s operations. The U.S. delegation underscored that the metal large’s funding is a cornerstone of U.S. nationwide safety pursuits within the area.
In response, President Boakai reaffirmed Liberia’s dedication to a multi-user rail and port coverage, making certain that whereas ArcelorMittal expands, the infrastructure stays open to different industrial pursuits underneath a good, state-regulated framework.
State of the Nation Mandate
Returning to Monrovia for his State of the Nation Tackle yesterday, January 26, Boakai warned lawmakers that stalling the ArcelorMittal modification threatens the nation’s financial credibility.
“Delays in passing these measures will weaken the reforms wanted for financial development and institutional integrity,” the President said, putting the deal on the heart of his 2026 legislative agenda.
A Shift in U.S. Coverage?
The current alignment with ArcelorMittal marks a notable growth in Liberian international coverage. For months, hypothesis recommended that U.S. help—particularly concerning the Millennium Problem Company (MCC)—was tied to the pursuits of Ivanhoe Atlantic and its proposed “Liberty Hall.”
Nevertheless, with the Trump administration’s vocal backing of ArcelorMittal and the current reaffirmation of Liberia’s eligibility for a second MCC Compact in December, the Boakai administration seems to be efficiently balancing a number of main mining pursuits whereas prioritizing established U.S. safety companions
Legislative Standing and Political Undercurrents
The Third Modification to the AML MDA was overwhelmingly handed by the Home of Representatives final week after the plenary endorsed a report from its Joint Committee on Concessions and Funding, Lands, Mines and Vitality, and Judiciary. The report adopted a public listening to involving members of the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC), who defended the revised settlement as being in Liberia’s nationwide curiosity.
The invoice has since been forwarded to the Liberian Senate for concurrence.
Whereas a majority of lawmakers reportedly help the modification, FrontPage Africa has discovered {that a} bloc of senators is allegedly delaying the method. Sources additional declare that Senate Professional Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence is pushing to hyperlink the controversial Port Decentralization Payments to the AML modification.
The port payments—beforehand vetoed by President Boakai—have been re-passed by the Legislature and despatched again to the Government. Sources say the Professional Tempore could also be utilizing the AML settlement as leverage in broader legislative negotiations.
Complicating issues additional is an ongoing energy battle between Senate President Professional Tempore Karnga-Lawrence and Vice President Jeremiah Koung, with political observers pointing to maneuvering forward of the 2029 presidential elections, together with competitors over entry to potential marketing campaign financing streams.
What’s within the Third Modification
In response to the IMCC, the amended settlement delivers vital fiscal, social, and infrastructure advantages, together with US$200 million signature bonus, payable inside 30 days of the settlement’s efficient date, US$5 million annual neighborhood growth fund for Nimba, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties—up from US$3 million and listed to inflation, US$200,000 annual infrastructure oversight price to help monitoring of rail operations by the Nationwide Rail Authority, an elevated Mining License Price of US$500,000 yearly beginning in 2031, up from US$50,000 paid over the earlier 25 years, and a , month-to-month royalty of 4.5% on the FOB Buchanan worth, changing delayed quarterly funds
Jobs and ‘Liberianization’ Commitments
The modification consists of binding provisions geared toward increasing Liberian participation past guide labor. The corporate is predicted to extend the Liberian administration as much as 50% inside one yr, rising to 75% in 5 years, and 90% in ten years. No less than one Liberian among the many high 4 senior executives (CEO, COO, CFO, CAO) inside one yr, obligatory hiring desire for certified Liberians in any respect ranges, and precedence for Liberian-owned SMEs, supported by a joint committee to boost native enterprise participation.
Training and Infrastructure Investments
The settlement additionally mandates US$500,000 annual coaching price range for scholarships in geology and mining engineering, institution of a brand new AML Vocational Coaching Heart campus in Grand Bassa County, annual funding for the College of Liberia’s Mining and Geology Institute and neighborhood faculties, repairs to key bridges, paving of concession roads in Buchanan, and completion of the Sanniquellie–Yekepa highway, and full transition to a multi-user rail system, opening entry to different mining firms and small-scale miners.
ArcelorMittal Liberia is the nation’s largest mining concession and one of many single greatest international traders in postwar Liberia. The corporate, a subsidiary of world metal large ArcelorMittal, started operations following the signing of a Mineral Improvement Settlement (MDA) in 2005, which was ratified by the Liberian Legislature in 2006 after the top of Liberia’s civil struggle.
AML’s concession covers iron ore deposits in Nimba County, with mining actions centered round Yekepa, as soon as residence to the previous LAMCO operations that collapsed throughout the civil battle. The corporate inherited and rehabilitated essential infrastructure broken throughout the struggle, together with the 243-kilometer railway linking Yekepa to the Port of Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, in addition to port services important for iron ore exports.
Business iron ore exports resumed in 2011, marking a significant milestone in Liberia’s financial restoration. Since then, AML has invested over US$2 billion in mining operations, rail and port rehabilitation, energy technology, and neighborhood growth initiatives, in response to firm disclosures and authorities information.
The corporate employs a number of thousand Liberians immediately and not directly and stays one of many nation’s largest private-sector employers. It additionally contributes to authorities revenues by way of royalties, taxes, land rental charges, social growth funds, and different statutory funds.
