The citizens of Mount Coffee Township are seeking the intervention of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to stop a Canadian citizen from taking over a gold mining site in Ben-Ben Town in Mount Coffee Township, Montserrado County.
According to the Chairperson of the Mount Coffee Township Council, Allison D. Nuahn, the gold mining site was discovered by a Liberian, Richard Kollie, who was certificated with a Class-C mining license by the Ministry of Mines and Energy in 2020 after verifying that the site had not been licensed to any company or individual.
Chairman Nuahn made the disclosure over the weekend when the Canadian citizen, David Kol, who established the GEM Rocks Mining Resources and obtained exploration license from the Ministry of Mines and Energy 15 years ago without conducting any mining activities in the Mount Coffee Township, particularly in Ben-Ben Town, refused to leave the site.
He indicated that before Kollie started to mine in the area, he provided US$3,500 to the people of the Township, as tradition demanded, as a goodwill gesture, as well as 12 bundles of zincs and 25 bags of cements to build a school in Ben-Ben Town.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Mines and Energy provided a surveyor to survey eight claims from the Waterside of the St. Paul River, and also survey four claims toward the forest, and began the mining process until 2021 when he discovered gold on his claim.
Chairperson Nuahn explained that when Kollie found little gold on the site, one Isaac G. Youngar came to claim the site, and sued Kollie but the case was taken to court and Youngar could not provide any mining license. As a result, Kollie won the case against Youngar.
According to him, Youngar, who lost the case, organized a criminal group to create confusion in the town, but the former Superintendent of Montserrado County, Florence Brandy, intervened in the situation and it was brought to a halt. The former superintendent warned them against causing confusion in Ben-Ben Town against Kollie.
He disclosed that Kollie also built his house in Ben-Ben Town and continued to mine until the Representative of the electoral district #1, Rugie Yatu Barry, invited him for discussion, at which time she expressed her intention to form a partnership with him but he refused to establish any partnership with the lawmaker. According to information, Kollie said that he is a businessman and she is a politician; they could not work together as miners.
He noted that right after the visitation from the Representative’s office, a handful of citizens in Mount Coffee Township started agitating that Kollie should leave Ben-Ben Town. The Commissioner asked them why he should leave the town but they insisted that he should just leave. They started terrifying Ben-Ben Town, and the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police (LNP) sent some officers to restore calm, but they were ambushed by single barrel guns and two officers sustained severe injuries.
Chairperson Nuahn underscored that Inspector General Gregory Colemen then stationed some officers in the area after the incident, but later on Representative Barry intervened and the officers were withdrawn from Ben-Ben Town.
Meanwhile, the Chairlady of Zala Town in the Township of Mount Coffee, Mamie Waye, said when Kollie discovered gold on his field in Ben-Ben Town, suddenly, David Kol, CEO of the GEM Rocks Mining Resources, appeared in the town and went to mine in the area where Kollie had been mining, but the people of Ben-Ben Town said they do not know him and he has not met with the owner of the town, Sunday Ben-Ben.
Chairlady Waye claimed that Kol is associated with the Deputy Minister for Operations, Ministry of Mines and Energy, William S. Hines, and he was given exploration license nearly 16 years ago, but he did not do anything like mining in Mount Coffee Township—but when Kollie discovered gold at his site in Ben-Ben Town they want him to get out of the place although he has obtained a class B license by paying US$15,000 to mine in Mount Coffee Township, after spending US$1,200 to survey the class-B license field with the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Yet Kol continues to undermine all these by creating violence with Youngar’s group, who are carrying out illicit mining activities in the area.
She noted that as a result of Kol’s action the progress and development of the Mount Coffee Township have been halted.
She urged President Boakai to kindly intervene in their situation.
For his part, the Co-Chair of the Council at the Getoe Town, Cooper Binda, said since the closure of the Kollie mining site, where many of the workers came from Ben-Ben Town and other towns within the Mount Coffee Township, they are now jobless.
Co-Chair Binda alleged that Kol has been supported by Deputy Minister Hines to deny a Liberian, Richard Kollie, from mining in Ben-Ben Town but is fronting for a Canadian who should be doing exploration of minerals from Mount Coffee Township to Bomi County; instead, he wants to mine the area Kollie had been given a Class-B license to carry out his mining activities.
He asserted that the current Minister of Mines and Energy, Richard Matenokay Tingban, has instituted measures to bring this situation under control, but Kol continues to invade the process.
However, the leadership of Mount Coffee Township has been going to the Ministry of Mines and Energy to resolve the problem, but up to now no solution.
In a related development, the founder of Ben-Ben Town, Sunday Ben-Ben, has explained that he and his wife have been maltreated by the Youngar group, and they have left the town as a result of advocating for Richard Kollie who is the rightful owner of the mining site in Ben-Ben Town.
Ben-Ben stated that he and his wife do not feel safe to live in Ben-Ben Town, and they have written the Justice Ministry seeking justice.
He pointed out that Youngar group continues to create fear, intimidation and threaten the citizens of Mount Coffee Township, which has forced Kollie to run for his life.
He then called on President Boakai to swiftly intervene and investigate what is currently unfolding in Ben-Ben Town, as the Canadian national continues to threaten their livelihood.
The Hot Pepper has in its possession all documents to substantiate the claims made against the Canadian National, David Kol.
