The future of the Dugbe Gold Project, Liberia’s largest known gold deposit with a gross metal value in excess of $6 billion, is at risk after a leading senator asked the Liberian Senate to deratify the 2019 Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) with UK-registered Hummingbird Resources, accusing the company of lacking the capacity to develop the concession.
In a letter. Senator Numene Bartekwa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Concessions and Investment, called on the plenary to empower relevant committees to summon the minister of Mines and Energy, the National Investment Concession chairman and the director general of the National Bureau of Concession to explain why Hummingbird Resources Liberia Inc. has not started operations since the MDA was published in April 2019.
The senator urged that, if the company cannot demonstrate a justifiable reason for the delay, the agreement should be deratified to allow other investors to step in.
“The company misled the government of Liberia of its capacity and pretentiously entered into a Mineral Development Agreement,” Senator Bartekwa wrote, adding that Hummingbird “immediately departed the country and only occasionally visits,” leaving affected communities in Sinoe, Grand Kru and River Gee counties waiting for promised economic benefits.
Project economics and ownership complexity
The Dugbe concession covers about 1,410 km² in southeastern Liberia, roughly 75 kilometers by road from the deep-water port of Greenville.
It hosts more than 3.3 million ounces of gold in Measured and Indicated resources and is widely viewed as having the potential to become Liberia’s first major gold mine and one of West Africa’s most lucrative projects. Initial capital costs have been estimated at about $435 million.
Under the 2019 MDA, the state was to receive a 10% free carried interest and a 3% royalty, along with other prescribed taxes.
The project, originally connected to Pasofino Gold’s efforts to unlock the Dugbe Shear Zone, later came under the control of Hummingbird Resources (Liberia) Ltd. Hummingbird Resources PLC is registered in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Birmingham. The company transitioned to a private limited company after an acquisition by Nioko Resources in early 2025.
The concession has also seen operator changes and a strategic review for acquisition while facing repeated delays and legislative scrutiny.
The Senate action underscores growing frustration among lawmakers over unfulfilled promises and stalled development on a resource that could deliver substantial revenue, jobs and infrastructure to a region with limited economic opportunities.
If the plenary endorses deratification, the government could reopen the concession to other investors — but the move could also trigger legal and commercial disputes with existing rights-holders, prolonging uncertainty, some Senators including Bomi County Edwin Snowe have warned.
Analysts say scrapping an MDA can have wide implications for sovereign investment climate and may deter future mining investors unless handled transparently and in line with legal safeguards.
Senate committees on Lands, Mines and Natural Resources, Concessions and Investment, and Judiciary, Human Rights and Petitions have been asked to investigate.
The committees’ findings — and whether the executive branch can demonstrate reasonable cause for the delay — will likely determine whether the MDA survives or is deratified.
Gold is rivaling iron ore and other commodities as Liberia’s main export earner. The country’s merchandise exports rose 17.2% in 2024 to US$1.30 billion, driven overwhelmingly by a surge in gold shipments and continuing contributions from the mining sector including diamonds even as iron ore exports fell sharply, a World Bank report released Oct. shows.
Gold remained the dominant export, climbing from US$681.5 million in 2023 to US$895.6 million in 2024, underpinning much of the overall gain.
