By Sahr Ibrahim Komba
Sierra Leone’s mineral-rich districts Kono in the east, Lunsar in the north, and Rutile in the south are often described as the backbone of the country’s extractive sector. For decades, they have attracted multinational companies and artisanal miners seeking diamonds, iron ore, and rutile. Yet, while billions of dollars in mineral wealth have flowed out of these communities, the legacy left behind is one of poverty, environmental destruction, and social dislocation.
Today, as the debate on sustainable mining deepens, residents, civil society organizations, and environmental experts are asking questions: are mining companies respecting the laws and are government regulators doing enough to protect the environment?
Discovered in the 1930s, diamonds transformed Kono District into the “breadbasket of Sierra Leone.” But decades later, the district is more synonymous with scars of environmental ruin than with prosperity.
In chiefdoms like Gbense, Tankoro, and Nimikoro, large-scale companies such as Koidu Holdings and Seawright Mining dominate. Their blasting and excavation activities have displaced entire communities, relocated schools, and even forced the Tankoro Police Station to move. Fertile farmlands that once produced cocoa, coffee,plantains and rice have been destroyed, leaving behind barren craters and stagnant pools.
Health and social costs are equally severe. Residents report respiratory illnesses, malaria from mosquito-breeding pits, and rising cases of school dropouts and teenage pregnancies.
“The noise of mining machines has become part of life in Kono,” said one resident. “They lull you to sleep and wake you again but what they leave behind is devastation.”
In an interview with Tamba Prince Boima,one of the affected property owners in kono district said many people have lost properties or farmlands to mining companies especially Koidu Holdings.
“My friend lost an entire compound and Koidu Holdings only built a three bedroom house for him” which he described as blatant human rights violation.
We have engaged the government and other partners to review resettlement processes of displaced families for mining purposes.He continued that the houses Koidu holdings built for affected property owners are not commensurate to the ones they destroyed for mining purposes. Our farmlands and houses have been taken from us and we got nothing substantial from the said mining companies he said.
In Lunsar, northern Sierra Leone, mining by Marampa Mines Limited has displaced farmers and disrupted education. Communities accuse the company of flooding farmlands and cutting off access to schools and villages.
“Farming is the backbone of our survival,” lamented a chief from Marampa Chiefdom. “Now, even getting to our farms is impossible because the water has taken over the land. Our children also cannot cross to go to school.”
Local residents argue that the National Minerals Agency (NMA), mandated to regulate mining and ensure land rehabilitation, has failed to enforce environmental safeguards. Civil society groups point out that while the Mines and Minerals Act requires rehabilitation plans, many mining areas remain barren or waterlogged long after operations cease.
In July this year large farmland was covered with water as a result of Marampa Mines Limited mining operations.The people of Mafoki village Marampa chiefdom suffered from severe flooding leaving residents stranded and disrupted transportation.Flood waters damaged key roads that links surrounding villages disrupting access to essential services and restricted the movement of people and goods.
Local residents accused Marampa Mines Limited of damaging the environment. Community leaders said their farmland and many crops were affected.
They called on the government to urgently address the crisis, assess the possible causes and implement measures to prevent further disruption.
In the southern districts of Bonthe and Moyamba, rutile mining has left a trail of ecological destruction. Sierra Rutile Limited’s open-pit mining has stripped farmlands, destroyed forests, and polluted rivers such as the Kpanga and Lake Mabesi. Communities that once depended on rice farming and fishing now face water insecurity and hunger.
“The land has been turned to sand, and the river is no longer safe,” said a resident of Nyandehun village. Villages like Bamba and Gbangbama have seen worsening food insecurity due to land loss and water contamination.
Although Sierra Rutile has introduced rehabilitation measures such as reforestation and tailings management, civil society groups argue that progress is slow and inconsistent. A 2021 review by the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) found that many supposedly rehabilitated lands lacked vegetation years after mining ended.
Sierra Leone’s legal framework is not silent on environmental protection.
The Mines and Minerals Act (2009) requires companies to submit Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), Environmental Management Plans (EMPs), and mine closure plans, including funds set aside for rehabilitation.
The EPA Act mandates companies to prevent environmental harm and ensure community participation in decision-making.
The National Minerals Agency (NMA) is charged with regulating mining activities, monitoring compliance, and enforcing rehabilitation requirements.
However, enforcement remains weak. Abandoned pits, polluted rivers, and unrehabilitated lands across Kono, Lunsar, and Rutile suggest that these laws exist more on paper than in practice.
The Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) has consistently documented the environmental and social costs of mining. Their 2022 grassroots study across 21 mining sites in Kono and Kenema revealed:
Severe soil erosion and depletion caused by artisanal mining. Widespread water contamination from large-scale operations and weak or absent enforcement of rehabilitation provisions.
This further increased poverty and displacement in mineral-rich communities
NMJD argues that unless artisanal mining is formalized, revenue is tracked transparently, and community participation is strengthened, Sierra Leone will continue to lose its ecosystems while enriching foreign companies.
The evidence from Kono, Lunsar, and Rutile underscores a clear pattern: mining in Sierra Leone has failed to balance economic gains with environmental protection and community wellbeing.
To address this, experts and civil society groups recommend:
- Stronger enforcement of the EPA Act and Mines and Minerals Act transparent tracking of environmental bonds and rehabilitation funds.
- Inclusive consultations involving women, youth, and affected communities and Independent environmental audits of mining concessions
- Alternative livelihoods programs to reduce dependence on artisanal mining
Sierra Leone stands at a crossroads. Its mineral wealth remains a cornerstone of the national economy, but the cost borne by communities is growing unbearable. From the diamond fields of Kono to the iron ore mines of Lunsar and the rutile pits of Bonthe, the story is the same: land lost, water polluted, livelihoods destroyed.
If laws are not enforced and communities are not protected, Sierra Leone risks trading away its environment and future for short-term profits. As NMJD and other civil society groups warn, mineral wealth must not come at the expense of the people and the environment.
