By Festus Poquie
President Joseph Boakai has established a Special Presidential Committee to resolve a decades old dispute over the Buchanan tailings stockpile in Grand Bassa County, placing the 11.6 million metric ton holding squarely under government scrutiny as a “sovereign asset” with commercial potential.
The committee chaired by the National Security Advisor and including senior officials from the Ministry of Mines & Energy, the National Bureau of Concessions, the National Investment Commission and the President’s legal adviser will review historic agreements, licensing since 2013, outstanding legal claims and the commercial prospects for safe, compliant reprocessing or development of the material.
The panel is charged with identifying qualified operators, clarifying the legal position of existing claims and recommending a transparent roadmap to ensure benefits to Grand Bassa communities.
What are tailings?
Tailings are the leftover rock, sand and slurry that remain after the valuable minerals have been removed from ore at a mine. They typically contain small quantities of the original metal or mineral that were not captured in the initial processing. While commonly viewed as waste, tailings can sometimes be reprocessed to recover residual minerals — turning an environmental liability into an economic resource but only after careful technical, environmental and legal assessment.
The Buchanan stockpile was created during historic iron ore operations and has been inactive for more than 20 years amid licensing and ownership disputes.
President Boakai’s designation of the commodity as a national asset signals intent to move from legal limbo toward commercial appraisal and possible redevelopment — steps that could produce revenue, local jobs and infrastructure benefits if done responsibly.
The commercial value of 11.6 million metric tonnes of tailings depends on several technical and market factors that have not yet been publicly reported: the tailings’ mineral composition and grade, the recovery rate achievable with modern reprocessing, concentrate specification, transport and treatment costs, royalties and environmental remediation liabilities.
To provide a practical sense of scale, below are illustrative, modelled valuations using commonly used price/assumption ranges. These are examples only and they are not a formal appraisal.
Direct sale as low-grade ore/fines:
- At US$20 per tonne: 11.6m t × $20/t = US$232 million
- At US$60 per tonne: 11.6m t × $60/t = US$696 million
Reprocessing to produce higher-grade concentrate (illustrative recovery scenarios):
- Conservative: 10% concentrate yield × US$70/t concentrate = 11.6m × 0.10 × $70 = US$81.2 million
- Mid case: 25% yield × US$100/t = 11.6m × 0.25 × $100 = US$290 million
- Optimistic: 50% yield × US$140/t = 11.6m × 0.50 × $140 = US$812 million
These ranges demonstrate that valuation can vary widely depending on composition, recovery, specification and market prices. A formal, defensible valuation will require detailed sampling and laboratory assays, pilot scale metallurgical test work, updated market benchmarks for the specific concentrate/product and a full cost and fiscal model that includes transport, processing, taxes, royalties and environmental remediation.
The Presidential Committee will produce findings and recommendations within the period set by its terms of reference. Its remit to clarify legal title and commercial potential is intended to attract qualified, compliant operators and to ensure transparent benefit sharing with local communities.
