Ministry of Public Works has taken decisive action against Western Cluster Limited (WCL), suspending the company’s Road User Permit (RUP – 220620-004) due to significant violations. The ministry cited breaches including the use of oversized trucks, round-the-clock hauling activities, and failure to install required weigh bridges.
This suspension follows a similar action in November 2023, highlighting WCL’s failure to rectify the issues promptly. The ministry has given WCL 60 days to address the violations, warning of permit termination if they remain unresolved,
Recently, the Liberian leader, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai during meeting with the lawyer of the company said, “I just met the lawyer for Western Cluster this morning and I told him we’re going to close them down. Minister let me tell you, if we don’t close Western Cluster down, we’ll lose the bridges, we’ll lose those bridges and it’ll be disastrous.
Western Cluster Limited is a subsidiary of Elenilto Minerals & Mining, an international mining and exploration group. The company’s holds exploration and mining licenses for several iron ore deposits in Liberia and its key projects the Bomi Hills Iron Ore Project: One of Western Cluster’s main projects, located in Bomi County where it’s carrying out exploration and feasibility studies. It also has the Mano River Iron Ore Project which is situated in Grand Cape Mount County.
Its name derives from its area of operation in the western part of the country – The Western Cluster – which comprises Bomi Hills, Bea Mountain and Mano River. The deposits are spread out along an old railway line that runs from Mano River in the north to Monrovia on the coast. The Western Cluster has an estimated potential of 3 billion tons of iron ore, with an annual production of 30 million tons. The ore is made up of quartz, hematite, magnetite, martite, and limonite.
