Out Of $1.2B Worth Of Mineral Exported In 2023, Salone Only Benefitted $30,000

Over the past days, the internet was awash with Sierra Leone exporting over $1.2 Billion worth of Mineral which the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Daniel Mattai boasted about on a local radio station in Freetown.
Minister Mattai updated the country on the mining sector’s contribution to the national economy, employment, and benefits for host communities.
He said that last year, gold exports reached 105,000 ounces, generating $12.5 million, while diamond exports totalled $105 million, pointing out that the iron ore sector, including Marampa Mines and Kingho Mining, contributed 65% to exports, with Sierra Rutile contributing 8%, Kudu 20%, and small-scale mining making up the remainder.
The Minister boasted that the mining exports accounted for nearly 85% of Sierra Leone’s total exports, but failed to explained how much revenue the country benefitted from the sector.
But the General-Purpose Financial Statement of the Government of Sierra Leone in 2023 revealed that the mineral sector only contributed 6% to the country’s revenue.
According to the Financial Statement, Mineral Revenues is Old Leone was 692 million or 6% of total domestic revenue.
Julius Mattai has been at the centre of negotiating some of these bad mining deals which has given little or no benefit to Sierra Leone while individuals are milking the country Dry.