Sesa Goa Limited, which signed a Mineral Development Agreement with the government of Liberia, said that it will prioritize the employment and training of Liberians at its concession.
According to a press release, Sesa signing of the MDA with the government of Liberia follows the purchase of a 51% of outstanding common shares of the Western Cluster Iron ore deposit which was wholly owned subsidiary of Elenilto at USD 90 million. The MDA is subject to ratification by the Liberian Legislature.
Sesa said that it believes in the employment and capacity building of local people over the importation of overseas employees which is cost intensive.
Mr PK Mukherjee MD at Sesa Goa said that "As a businessman it makes some sense for us, a big sense to engage and invest in the local people then to bring people from overseas to work, which is not possible. No business firm is able to run over the years just importing people from overseas. It is not possible. It has to be local people."
Mr Mukherjee said that his company believes that in any mining project, the success depends on the relationship with the local people and the support of the government, emphasizing. He added that "We believe in local employment, not only employment but training them."
As part of the MDA, out of the USD 90 million deal, the government of Liberia gets 15% in withholding tax, which translate into USD 13 million, while the USD 76 million goes to Elenilto.
After the ratification, Sesa is expected to pay USD 25 million to the Government of Liberia, half of this amount which is USD 12.5 million will be paid after ratification and the remaining USD 12.5 million 120 days later.
In addition, Sesa will make available USD 3.1 million to the Community Welfare Development Fund. The company will make initial payment of USD 2 million within the first year of operations. This is aside the USD 200,000 contributions to the Educational Fund.
The acquisition is expected to help the Anil Agarwal led Vedanta Resources' subsidiary to become a significant player in the West African iron ore hub. Located in Western part of Liberia and spread over 270 square kilometers area, the company has assets having long mine life with an estimated reserve of over 1.05 billion tonne iron ore. The deposits are located close to the coast along Monrovia to Mano River.
Mr PK Mukherjee said that "We are highly delighted with this opportunity to consolidate our iron ore business. The Western Cluster Project presents an excellent opportunity for developing a large integrated mining operation and establish our presence in Liberia and Africa."
(Sourced from www.allafrica.com)
