SINJE TOWN, (LINA) -Barely a month after the imposition of a ban on the use of dredges in Liberian waters by miners, Mines and Energy Ministry officials in Grand Cape Mount have destroyed several dredges in the county.
Making the disclosure on Monday, the Grand Cape Mount County Inspector General of Mines, Alfred Paasewe, said the dredges were destroyed in the Sand Beach Community in Tewor District for violating the current ban on the use of dredges in Liberian waters for mining purposes.
Inspector Paasewe indicated that his office got a tip-off about some miners carrying on illegal mining in the Sand Beach area in Tewor Distinct.
He said following an investigation, the task force discovered that illegal mining was not only going on in the area, but that the miners were also using the banned dredges in the area.
Paasewe informed the press that when the taskforce went to the site they seized the dredges that were being used by the illegal miners.
He confirmed that the confiscated dredges were later destroyed, adding that the destruction of the equipment was a testament that the government is serious about the ban that has been imposed on the use of dredges in Liberian waters.
“I want the people of Grand Cape Mount to know that the Ministry of Mines and Energy is very serious and that the honeymoon in the mining sector is over,” the Mining Inspector General of Cape Mount stressed.
Inspector Paasewe added that to ensure the ban is observed in the county, the mining taskforce is carrying on regular tours across the various mining sites in the county.
“We can’t continue allowing people to defraud government of its rightful revenue, especially during this period of economic challenges,” he added.
The Grand Cape Mount County Inspector General of Mines then called on all the citizens of Grand Cape Mount County to come together to protect the resources of Liberia.
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