MONROVIA, LIBERIA – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2024 – Bea Mountain, a major concessionaire operating under Avesoro Resource Limited, has been extracting gold in Cape Mount since 2001. With its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) set to expire in 2026, the company has generated hundreds of millions of dollars from the region’s gold deposits. According to the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) 2023 Report, Bea Mountain exported 11,046 kilograms of gold in just one year, amounting to a staggering US$576.4 million. Yet, despite these massive profits, the living conditions in Cape Mount remain abysmal, exposing the exploitative relationship between foreign corporations and Liberia’s impoverished communities.
Take a close look at Cape Mount: no safe drinking water, no quality education, no decent healthcare, no gainful employment, no electricity, no improved housing, and no infrastructure. The magisterial court and drug depot stand as symbols of neglect—run-down, underfunded, and inadequate. Is this not exploitation in its purest form? While Bea Mountain lines its coffers, the people of Cape Mount continue to suffer.
For just US$3 million—less than 1% of the revenue generated from the gold—Cape Mount could have a state-of-the-art court and drug depot. Yet, this wealth remains concentrated in the hands of a foreign corporation, while the local population is left without basic services. Who truly owns the gold then? Bea Mountain or the people of Cape Mount?
In addition to economic exploitation, the working conditions at Bea Mountain’s facilities have raised significant concerns. A tragic example occurred on June 8, 2024, at the company’s gold processing plant in Kinjor, Grand Cape Mount County, when Varney Watson, a Liberian worker employed as a daily hire, lost his entire arm during a shift. Bea Mountain’s offer of US$20,000 in compensation for this life-altering injury has sparked outrage, particularly given the severity of the harm inflicted on Watson.
Martin K. N. Kollie, a prominent advocate for workers’ rights, has condemned Bea Mountain for exploiting both Liberia’s natural resources and its labor force. “Our gold, diamonds, iron ores, rubber, and other natural resources are not only being exploited by foreign concessionaires, but our people are being abused and violated on mines and plantations across Liberia,” Kollie stated. He called on President Boakai to end the exploitation. “Which country in the world allows its citizens to work under such conditions as ‘daily hire workers’ in their own nation’s gold mines? Could this happen in Turkey? This is unacceptable.”
According to Kollie, Varney was in severe pain at John F. Kennedy Hospital following the incident, while the company attempted to hush the matter with a meager settlement.
The exploitation of Cape Mount’s resources is not just Bea Mountain’s doing; it is enabled by a government that has repeatedly failed to hold foreign concessionaires accountable. In 2024, protests erupted over the company’s refusal to provide better working conditions and benefits to local workers. What began as a peaceful assembly of citizens and workers turned deadly when the Liberian National Police (LNP), allegedly acting in the interests of Bea Mountain, brutally shot and killed three unarmed protestors: Essah Massaley, Abraham Kerkula, and another unidentified individual. The protestors were reportedly shot in the back while attempting to escape, emphasizing the excessive use of force by law enforcement.
This incident, which contravenes Article 17 of the Liberian Constitution and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, demonstrates how government forces are often employed to protect corporate interests over the lives of citizens. Shockingly, the investigation by the LNP’s Professional Standard Department sought to justify the killings, further revealing the deep-seated complicity between the government and Bea Mountain. The families of the victims have since sought legal counsel and engaged international consultants to hold those responsible accountable, but justice remains elusive.
Why does the Liberian government continue to allow foreign corporations to exploit its people and resources while providing minimal benefits in return? This is not just a question of neglect; it’s a question of systemic failure—a failure that has persisted for decades, allowing corporations like Bea Mountain to operate with impunity.
Bea Mountain’s impact on Cape Mount goes beyond labor exploitation; it has also left an environmental crisis in its wake. Chemicals from the company’s waste facility have repeatedly leaked into local water sources, polluting rivers and causing serious health risks. According to a report obtained by The DayLight, cyanide and copper from the plant at the New Liberty Goldmine seeped into water sources in Jikando, Gola Konneh District, earlier this year. The report found that elevated levels of free cyanide and dissolved copper likely led to the death of aquatic species in Marvoe Creek, a vital water source for local communities.
This is the fourth documented chemical spillage in the last decade. Despite the clear violations of Liberia’s Environmental Protection and Management Law, Bea Mountain has consistently evaded serious penalties, often with the complicity of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last year, when another spillage occurred, dead fish and animals were discovered in local rivers, yet Bea Mountain denied responsibility, calling the report “inconclusive.”
The government’s failure to act decisively against these environmental crimes underscores a broader culture of impunity for corporations that violate the rights of Liberians. The EPA, which is supposed to protect the environment and the people, has failed to enforce meaningful penalties. Despite repeated violations, Bea Mountain faces a mere US$50,000 fine, a pittance compared to the vast profits they make annually.
Why is the EPA hiding reports and failing to hold Bea Mountain accountable? The concealment of pollution incidents by the EPA violates the public’s right to participate in environmental decision-making, as enshrined in Liberian law. Are government institutions complicit in Bea Mountain’s crimes by protecting the company’s image rather than ensuring justice for the affected communities?
Bea Mountain is not an isolated case. It represents a broader trend of foreign corporations exploiting Liberia’s natural resources while giving little in return. This exploitation is not only economic but also environmental and social, leaving local communities impoverished, displaced, and without basic rights. Liberia’s resources—its gold, diamonds, iron ore, and rubber—are being siphoned off by foreign interests while the people suffer.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, invested £5.3 million in Bea Mountain’s operations, demonstrating how global financial institutions also benefit from this extraction. Yet, little of this wealth reaches the people of Liberia.
President Joseph Boakai’s administration has the responsibility to rectify these injustices. But will the government take a stand against powerful foreign corporations, or will it continue to prioritize profits over the welfare of its citizens? Can Liberia afford to let another decade pass without demanding true accountability from companies like Bea Mountain?
As the people of Cape Mount continue to bear the brunt of exploitation, the international community and local advocacy groups must push for stronger corporate accountability and enforceable environmental protections. An independent forensic investigation into the February 2024 killings is necessary to hold those responsible accountable, and a thorough review of Bea Mountain’s environmental practices must be undertaken to ensure no more lives are endangered.
The time for change is long overdue. Liberia’s natural wealth belongs to its people, not to foreign corporations that exploit labor, poison the environment, and offer nothing in return. The government must finally fulfill its duty to protect its citizens by enforcing laws that hold concessionaires like Bea Mountain accountable. Only then can the people of Cape Mount—and Liberia as a whole—begin to see the benefits of their nation’s vast resources.
