President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has issued a directive, temporarily lifting the moratorium on the export of heavy metal sand (HMS). This directive allows licensed HMS exporters, who had prepared shipments before the moratorium, to have a grace period of sixty (60) days to export their already packaged and prepared HMS.
According to an Executive Mansion release, this temporary measure, effective immediately, is designed to facilitate the clearing of stockpiled materials while ensuring that all future HMS exports comply with the updated regulations issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The new HMS regulations, recently reviewed and endorsed by the President, are said to be a step toward improving the management and oversight of the HMS industry.
According to the release, the regulations include two key provisions: restricted licensing—HMS mining licenses will be limited to a maximum of three operators to enhance oversight and ensure government revenue collection is streamlined and effective; and increased royalty payments—exporters will now be required to pay an increased royalty of 8%, up from 3%, upfront, reflecting the government’s commitment to ensuring the equitable distribution of natural resource revenues.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Liberia Revenue Authority, and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) have been tasked with ensuring full compliance with this directive.
“These regulations are designed to strengthen our resource governance framework, ensuring that our natural resources contribute meaningfully to Liberia’s economic development and benefit all Liberians,” President Boakai is quoted as saying.