The Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Umaru Napoleon Koroma, has called on Canadian mining companies and institutional investors to capitalize on Sierra Leone’s vast critical minerals endowment, positioning the country as one of Africa’s most attractive frontiers for responsible and sustainable mineral investment.
Speaking in Edmonton, Canada, during the Sierra Leone-Canada Investment Summit, Koroma highlighted Sierra Leone’s world-class mineral resource base, including significant deposits of lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, nickel, cobalt, iron ore, gold, diamonds, rutile, and bauxite. He underscored the country’s strategic role in supporting the global energy transition and resilient critical mineral supply chains.
He outlined the Government of Sierra Leone’s far-reaching reforms aimed at transforming the mining sector into a globally competitive investment destination. He noted that these reforms are strengthening regulatory governance, enhancing transparency and accountability, promoting environmental and social sustainability, and reinforcing investor confidence through a stable and predictable policy framework.
Koroma emphasized that the implementation of the National Critical Minerals Strategy (2026–2031), together with the Mines and Minerals Development Act, 2022, provides a modern legal and institutional framework designed to facilitate responsible mineral development. The reforms include streamlined mineral rights administration, improved access to high-quality geological and geoscientific data, enhanced licensing efficiency, and greater regulatory certainty for investors across the mineral value chain.
“The global demand for critical minerals is accelerating as countries pursue clean energy and industrial transformation,” Koroma stated. “Sierra Leone is strategically positioned to emerge as a leading destination for long-term mining investment, offering abundant mineral resources, an enabling investment climate, and a government committed to responsible resource governance.”
He further encouraged Canadian mining firms, exploration companies, financiers, and technology partners to forge strategic partnerships with Sierra Leone to unlock the country’s untapped mineral potential. He stressed that such partnerships would not only generate competitive investment returns but also advance local value addition, employment creation, infrastructure development, and sustainable economic growth, delivering shared prosperity for investors and the people of Sierra Leone.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, 13th July 2026 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
