By Varney Kamara. The DayLight Investigations
GBARQUOITA, Gbarpolu County – A controversial overlap of mining and logging concessions in the Bondi Mandingo Community Forest has sparked fears of environmental destruction, legal violations, and potential conflict between concession holders and local residents in Bopolu District, Gbarpolu County.
The concerns stem from two separate government-approved resource extraction agreements covering the same forest area. In June 2025, the Bondi Mandingo Community Forest signed a logging contract with Kisvan Timber Corporation to harvest timber across 37,222 hectares of community forestland.
However, records show that nine months earlier, the government had already granted an exploration license to JM Mining Company over approximately 297 square kilometers of the same area.
Community leaders say the overlapping concessions threaten both the forest and community peace.
“This mining thing is a threat to our community,” said Mark Dennis, Chief Officer of the Bondi Mandingo Community Forest. “We are concerned because the logs Kisvan wants are the same logs JM Mining is cutting down and burying in the forest.”
Residents say JM Mining has been conducting exploration activities around the Kpo Mountain area for nearly two years, raising fears that competition for resources could lead to disputes between the two companies.
“Our concern is that the mining company and the logging company may eventually clash,” said Stanford David, General Town Chief of the Bondi Clan.
The mining company’s presence has already generated controversy. In July 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency fined JM Mining US$95,000 for operating without an environmental permit. The EPA also found the company responsible for contaminating a major waterway relied upon by surrounding communities for drinking water.
Community leaders further allege that the company entered the area without obtaining their consent.
“There was no prior information. We only saw them here,” Dennis recalled. “They told us they had obtained a license from the government and that the community had no role in their exploration activities.”
Bondi Mandingo is a legally recognized community forest under the Forestry Development Authority. Community representatives argue that any activities affecting forest resources should require their approval under Liberia’s Community Rights Law.
In February, the community formally complained to the Ministry of Mines and Energy about what it described as a “provocative mining situation.” It remains unclear whether the ministry responded directly.
In a statement to The DayLight, however, the Ministry defended its decision to issue the exploration license, arguing that exploration activities constitute research and can coexist with logging operations in the same forest landscape.
The position reflects a shift in the ministry’s stance. Historically, the Ministry of Mines and Energy has maintained that mineral resources belong to the state and has not recognized community forestry as a barrier to granting exploration licenses.
JM Mining also defended its actions, asserting that an exploration license does not require community consent at the preliminary stage.
“When that is done, we will come back to the community and sit and talk,” said company representative Hillary Simmons, referring to any future mining agreement. “Until that can happen, we have no such dealings with the community regarding benefits, because nothing has really started.”
Legal experts and advocates argue otherwise. Liberia’s 2009 Community Rights Law guarantees communities the right to participate in decisions concerning the use of their forest resources. Any future mining operation would also require amendments to the community’s existing forest management agreement with the Forestry Development Authority.
The dispute highlights longstanding tensions between Liberia’s mining and forestry sectors, where overlapping concessions and conflicting legal interpretations continue to create uncertainty for rural communities.
As lawmakers debate a revised Minerals and Mining Law that would recognize community forestry and customary land rights, residents of Bondi Mandingo remain caught between competing claims to their forest resources.
This story is the second in a two-part investigative series examining overlapping mining and logging concessions in the Bondi Mandingo Community Forest in Gbarpolu County.
