September 20, 2021
Albert Baron Ansu
Following the May 24th launch of the National Airborne Geophysical Survey report the National Mineral Agency has started layered engagements with stakeholders including academia, representatives of Ministries Department and Agencies, media and Civil Society stakeholders to raise awareness about the document and dispel misconceptions.
At a workshop convened in the auditorium of National Mineral Agency the Deputy Director General Kelvin Anderson noted that the investment in conducting the survey supported by the World Bank cost 7 million dollars and has the potential to be sold at 100 million dollars.
He disclosed that the terms of reference for the transaction of the sale of the National Airborne Geophysical Survey data packages has been sent to the Attorney General for legal opinion. The document situate mineral targets for interested investors wishing to explore in obtaining facts about the volume and grade of such minerals located in different parts of the country. The main clause to be included in the transaction terms of reference is that once you buy the document it cannot be resold.
Kelvin Anderson indicated that the NMA cannot handle cash and so whatever is accrued from the sales of the document is going to be disbursed in the consolidated fund. He added that geophysical surveys are always prone to ambiguity because a plane flying over a mineral deposited area can capture metals that might not be minerals which necessitate the need for further ground trove in exploration to unearth the true situation beyond the images.
The resolution of the National Airborne Geophysical Survey is noted as one of the best as product of two firms Excalibur Airborne Geophysics and Reid Geophysics Limited. The aero planes used were able to captured images 600 meters underground.
The study stems from near zero baselines which suggest that before now there had never been such data to situate where minerals in diamonds, gold, bauxite, diamonds, nickel, platinum, iron ore cobalt are located. So out of this survey Sierra Leone has now obtained two maps, surficial and basement. The surficial provides information on surface and the basement on what are underground.
One contentious issue that emerged from the interactive session of the showcasing of snippets of the data that is still considered as classified is the fact that the new NMA Act has cut down exploration from nine to seven years.
The survey documents now have the advantage of telling investors areas that considered dead targets for mining. In the past miners have gone into fields blindly digging out but with the documents to be sold based on specific interest areas this blind pursuit is something of the past.
The comprehensive data packages containing targets of all mineral targets in the country is what would charge 100 million but there are other low prices for the specifics which information is obtainable at the NMA upgraded website.