The Kingho Railway and Port (KRP), a subsidiary of the Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), on Friday, March 17, 2023 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the CTC Mining Sierra Leone Limited, a new bauxite mining company, for the export of their bauxite Ore through the Pepel Port.
In his statement, the Director – CEO’s Office, Mr. Salim Sillah said this is a historic moment because for the first time in the history of Sierra Leone has two mining companies of different entities worked together to agree to use the same service for the economic development of Sierra Leone.
‘’This achievement will not be possible without the willingness of the Government of Sierra Leone to design our agreement in such a way that gives us the right to expand the capacity of the Railway and Port to enable us to open the service to multiple users along the railway corridor through commercial agreement between our company and third-party users as agreed in Section 4.03 of the agreement,’’ he stated.
According to the MOU, Kingho Railway and Port Company shall provide an export slot possibly by the beginning of May 2023 for the export of a 175,000 tons capesize vessel as part of the immediate term plan. Moreover, within two (2) weeks of the signing of this MOU, KRP will provide CTC timelines for an export slot for the services that KRP will provide including, the provision of a stockyard in the Port for CTC bauxite storage, the use of the current conveyor loading system to deliver bauxite to the jetty, and the use of KRP’s trans-shipment fleet to load the capesize vessels.
Director Salim further said that after the successful completion of the first shipment, KRP and CTC will work together to develop a plan for CTC to export more shipments until the long-term plan is operational, noting that the short-term plan is important due to the technical difficulties in handling Bauxite and Iron Ore using the same transport and ship loading facility as Bauxite can cause contamination that may have impact on Iron Ore grade.
He said Leone Rock Metal Group has been tirelessly engaging not only CTC, but other mining operators along the railway corridor to develop similar mutual commercial agreement that will be a win-win for all companies but more especially for the Government and the People of Sierra Leone.
‘’Our company believes the Government of Sierra Leone chose to sign the management and operational right with Kingho Railway and Port Company due to our ability to rapidly transform the transport sector for the betterment of the mining industry. This agreement will tremendously help CTC to grow rapidly as their export volume will be highly competitive with other players and more importantly their transport and shipping cost will be lower which will increase their profit margin that will directly benefit the Government through increased royalty payment and socio-economic development,’’ he stated.
He said it is due to the trust the Government has repose in Leone Rock Metal Group, it gives them the confidence to invest even more, adding that as a result of this desire, they will commission the expansion of the railway and port engineering work in early April 2023 with an investment exceeding 200 million US Dollars.
‘’Once we complete that engineering achievement, the capacity of the railway will exceed 15 million tons per annum and the Port will be able to handle up to 20 million tons per annum. This massive investment drive from the company will open the door for more large-scale mining companies to operate and expand the multi-user the service of the railway and Port. This agreement will not have been possible without the support of the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Resources and the National Minerals agency which championed the multi-user rail and port agreement with Kingho Railway and Port for the development of the Mining industry,” he noted.
Source: LRMG PR & MEDIA UNIT