BOMI MOUNTAINS
The Bomi Hills iron occurrence comprises of several ridges extending for about 11 miles, located in Western Liberia. The western portion of the Bomi Hills is located in Bomi County, about 43 miles from Monrovia.
Iron ore from the Bomi Hills had been smelted by the locals for making utensils, long before foreigners were attracted to the deposits.
Foreign investment in the Bomi Hills iron deposits is recorded to have commenced in 1935 when a Dutch group, the Noord Europeesche Erts en Pyriet Maatschappij, commonly referred to as NEEP, began exploration activities in the area.
Between 1936 and 1937, extensive magnetic and geological surveys were undertaken in an effort to evaluate the ore. The Liberian Government cancelled the project with NEEP on suspicion that the Company was connected with the Nazis of Germany.
During the subsequent Second World War, shortage of steel led the United States of America and other western nations to conduct an intensive search for raw materials for their needs.
The United States Congress passed Executive Order 9190 on July 2, 1943, authorizing iron ore exploration in Liberia. In December 1943, the Department of the Interior sent a geological mission to Liberia, comprising Dr Walter N Newhouse, Dr Thomas P Thayer and Dr Arthur B Butler. They spent several months examining, testing and surveying the Bomi Hills iron occurrence. Their report confirmed the earlier findings of NEEP - that the Bomi Hills had high grade iron ore deposits.
The Liberia Mining Company (LMC) - founded in 1945 by Lansdell K. Christie, an American who had served on military mission in West Africa during World War II - was granted rights to work the Bomi Hills deposits. Financial and technical backing was obtained from Republic Steel Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio. Construction and mine development programs commenced on the main deposit in an area of approximately 25,000 acres of land and in June 1951, the first shipment of high grade lump ore was made.
Further work undertaken in 1952 proved the iron ore reserves to be 40 million tons of direct shipping ore. Open-hearth lump ores were mined. Due to changing market conditions, lump ore production was abandoned by 1963 and high-grade material was crushed to blast furnace size. A beneficiation plant was brought on stream in May 1958 to utilize lower grade ores.
LMC conducted continuous geologic investigations from 1951 in an effort to assess the economic potential of iron occurrences in the surrounding hills. Additional deposits in the Jupi Hill and Mami Town Hill were found. The main mining area was described as Lot 1. Further exploration work developed into Lot 1 Extension, Lots 2, 3, 4, 5 and 5 Extension, being outlined as iron deposits south and east of the main pit area.
Current Status and Summary of key deposits
It is expected that operations will be started in this region with the production of direct shipment ore as soon as practical by trucking it to port. In order to continue to do this once the initial high grade ore is depleted (12 – 18 months) the infrastructure serving this area will need to receive attention and the remaining ore from this area is likely to require the establishment of beneficiation facilities.