Having suggested governments in East and West Africa, the Caribbean, and contributed to the institution of Liberia’s Nationwide Oil Firm within the early 2000s, I’ve bore witness to the essential function that complete geophysical surveys play in unlocking and managing pure useful resource wealth. Liberia’s latest formal request by His Excellency President Joseph N. Boakai to the USA for help from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct an airborne geophysical survey represents a strategically sound initiative, important for the nation’s financial development.
By Jacqueline Khoury, [email protected], Contributing Author
Airborne geophysical surveying—using superior sensor-equipped plane to gather magnetic, radiometric, and gravity knowledge—offers an economical and environment friendly technique to delineate mineral deposits over in depth and sometimes inaccessible terrain. This knowledge underpins knowledgeable decision-making in mineral exploration, decreasing the inherent dangers for buyers and enabling governments to raised appeal to and negotiate focused international direct funding.
With the exemption of the survey proffered by the federal government of China to President Boakai, Liberia’s most up-to-date historical past with seismic surveys dates again to the presidency of Charles Taylor, when, constrained by restricted monetary sources, the newly fashioned Nationwide Oil Firm partnered with Norway’s TGS-NOPEC to finance a 2D offshore magnetic and gravity geophysical examine. Though business oil discoveries have but to materialize, Liberia has generated vital fiscal revenues—amounting to a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}—by way of licensing its seismic knowledge to exploration corporations. This underscores the tangible financial worth of geophysical knowledge, unbiased of rapid useful resource extraction.
Throughout the African continent, nations reminiscent of Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia have carried out airborne geophysical surveys in collaboration with worldwide companies together with the USGS and World Financial institution. These initiatives have facilitated the identification of recent mineral deposits, enhanced exploration effectivity, and contributed considerably to nationwide income progress. For instance, Ghana’s 2015 airborne survey was instrumental in increasing its gold mining sector, yielding hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in financial advantages.
Past exploration, geophysical survey knowledge have been leveraged by way of revolutionary monetary mechanisms. Governments have carried out licensing rounds to public sale exploration rights primarily based on survey findings, issued resource-backed bonds to mobilize capital, and established state-owned or three way partnership entities listed on inventory exchanges to monetize mineral property. These approaches have enabled resource-rich nations to transform geological knowledge into rapid improvement funding, mitigating fiscal constraints.
The anticipated value of Liberia’s proposed airborne survey, estimated at $15 to $20 million, is modest relative to the potential financial returns. Excessive-quality geophysical knowledge will improve investor confidence, facilitate extra favorable contractual preparations, and help the sustainable improvement of Liberia’s mineral sources. This, in flip, will drive infrastructure improvement, employment technology, and elevated authorities revenues by way of taxes and royalties and/or fairness partnerships.
Furthermore, complete geological mapping helps accountable land-use planning and environmental administration, essential components in mitigating social conflicts traditionally related to useful resource improvement.
The U.S. Geological Survey has a distinguished world observe file of transformative contributions by way of its scientific research. USGS’s experience has been instrumental not solely in useful resource evaluation but in addition in pure hazard analysis, water useful resource administration, and environmental safety. Its collaborations have empowered nations to develop their sources responsibly and sustainably. For example, USGS-led surveys have supported mineral improvement in nations throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America, offering governments with authoritative knowledge that underpin coverage choices and appeal to funding. The company’s rigorous scientific requirements and methodological improvements set a world benchmark, making certain knowledge reliability and fostering worldwide confidence.
Liberia’s enchantment to the USA for USGS collaboration displays a realistic strategy to leveraging scientific experience to unlock its mineral potential. Given the USGS’s technical capabilities and Liberia’s underexplored useful resource base, this partnership may catalyze vital financial transformation.
Based mostly on regional precedents and my skilled expertise, I contend that Liberia’s pursuit of this airborne geophysical survey is a needed and considered step towards establishing a data-driven mineral sector and ahead considering by the President. Such initiatives lay the muse for sustainable financial progress and improved governance of pure sources, and advantage sturdy worldwide help.
Jacqueline Khoury, an oil and fuel skilled with in depth advisory expertise throughout African and Caribbean governments, is a founding contributor to Liberia’s Nationwide Oil Firm and a New Producers Group (Chatham Home) advisory guide.
