Monrovia, Liberia – A daring new chapter in Liberia’s growth is unfolding, pushed by ArcelorMittal Liberia’s (AML) unprecedented funding in folks and cutting-edge trade. Via its twin dedication to superior human capital growth and world-class infrastructure, AML is pioneering a transformational mannequin of “people-centered mining” that’s redefining Liberia’s financial future and empowering generations of Liberians to guide it.
Since 2012, AML has sponsored 99 Liberians for superior educational and technical research around the globe. On the similar time, it has constructed and commissioned Liberia’s first-ever iron ore concentrator — a state-of-the-art facility able to tripling nationwide iron ore output and including worth at residence. These two milestones, reached in tandem, signify a paradigm shift: for the primary time in Liberia’s mining historical past, overseas funding isn’t just extracting minerals, however constructing Liberian capability to handle, function, and thrive.
At a celebratory ceremony in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, AML honored the newest cohort of 21 scholarship recipients. Funded fully by the corporate below its Mineral Improvement Settlement, the Superior Educational Research Scholarship covers tuition, dwelling bills, and costs for research in science, engineering, and expertise. Beneficiaries have studied in the US, Belgium, India, Turkey, Ghana, Malaysia, South Africa, and past. The initiative, valued at over $2.2 million, has already produced 41 grasp’s graduates now embedded throughout Liberia’s mining sector, public service, and academia.
“We didn’t spend cash. We invested the cash,” mentioned AML CEO Jozephus Coenen. “Training is a pillar for society, and what we’re doing right here is constructing the way forward for Liberia.”
A New Technology of Liberian Mining Leaders This funding is already bearing fruit. Dozens of graduates now occupy management roles at AML, together with in engineering, geology, and mission administration. A standout instance is Theresa Nuah-Koah, who earned a mining engineering diploma domestically and rose to develop into a Mine Pit Superintendent. “If ArcelorMittal weren’t right here, I might not have the chance to observe my profession,” she mentioned. “The brand new concentrator will open extra alternatives. Liberians should put together to take benefit.”
The corporate’s Vocational Coaching Middle (VTC) and Younger Professionals Program additional reinforce this trajectory. These initiatives provide hands-on instruction and mentorship, producing homegrown electricians, plant operators, mechanics, and managers who’re more and more changing expatriate roles.
Clear and Benefit-Primarily based Choice The integrity of AML’s scholarship course of has earned vast reward. Overseen by an impartial panel together with the Ministries of Training and Mines, it has set a nationwide benchmark for transparency and meritocracy. Amb. Levi Deemah, former Grand Bassa Superintendent, famous that the mannequin “defeats the considered many that folks purchase their manner by way of alternatives.”
Endurance Ndidi Okoye, one of many high students, captured the sentiment greatest: “It is a privilege. Many others wished this chance. We’re grateful for the empowerment to organize us to tackle future tasks.”
Industrial Revolution within the Mountains of Nimba Whereas investing in brains, AML can also be remodeling Liberia’s industrial panorama. In June 2025, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai joined AML Govt Chairman Lakshmi N. Mittal to fee Liberia’s first-ever iron ore concentrator in Yekepa. Valued between $1.8 and $2 billion as a part of AML’s Section II Growth, the ability is the primary of its form in West Africa. It permits Liberia to course of lower-grade ore into high-grade magnetite focus (66% iron) on residence soil.
“It is a vital milestone in Liberia’s industrial growth and financial transformation,” President Boakai declared. By exporting value-added ore, Liberia is transferring away from the uncooked materials lure and capturing extra income domestically.
A Mining Mannequin Constructed Round Folks In stark distinction to historic concessions that sidelined Liberians, AML’s mannequin integrates folks into each stage of the mining course of. Over 95% of AML’s pre-expansion everlasting workforce have been Liberian. Even throughout Section II’s non permanent contractor inflow, locals stay the bulk.
AML’s CEO emphasised: “From day one, we prioritize certified Liberians. We’re dedicated to transferring data and creating alternatives.”
This method is altering lives and mindsets. Group members like Buchanan’s Joseph Dayougar and Nimba youth chief James Saye communicate of AML as a growth accomplice, not simply an investor. “Mittal is making ready our kids to be future leaders,” Dayougar mentioned. Saye added, “Our city will develop. Our younger folks will discover jobs.”
World Requirements, Native Roots AML’s Vocational Coaching Middle in Yekepa operates freed from cost and produces expert employees who’re in demand throughout the mining and industrial sectors. The corporate’s coaching philosophy consists of data switch from expatriate specialists to Liberian apprentices — a structured transition that’s creating a brand new technology of technically proficient Liberians.
Authorities officers have taken discover. Samuel G. Williams, head of Liberia’s bilateral scholarships program, known as AML’s scholarship bundle “the very best accessible for Liberians.”
A Blueprint for Nationwide Prosperity President Boakai hailed AML’s enlargement as “a daring and brave step” that can generate constructive ripple results in well being, schooling, commerce, and native growth. Communities that after feared overseas exploitation now see a way forward for shared prosperity.
Not like previous concessions, AML is embedding worth into Liberia’s financial system by way of native hiring, data switch, and industrial infrastructure. Consequently, Liberia is not simply exporting minerals, but additionally exporting world-class expertise and constructing a path to eventual Liberian-led operations.
A Name to Maintain the Momentum The success of AML’s scholarship and industrial enlargement should be scaled. Policymakers should uphold regulatory certainty, communities should stay engaged and peaceable, and different buyers ought to emulate AML’s inclusive method.
CEO Coenen summed it up in his message to students: “Go, examine, and return to impression your households, your lives, and your nation.”
That is greater than company social accountability. It’s a nationwide motion. A narrative of shared progress. A sign that Liberia is prepared for large-scale transformation. With schooling and alternative on the middle, and partnerships that work, the nation is popping the web page on dependency and stepping confidently into its future.
Certainly, as one jubilant pupil mentioned on the concentrator inauguration in Yekepa: “That is our time.”
