The Observer has obtained documents from Government sources indicating that efforts by the Government of Liberia to advance its multiuser rail policy was temporarily obstructed this past month, when ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) refused Ivanhoe Liberia’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) team access to non-operational areas under its current concession, where Ivanhoe Atlantic and the GOL are negotiating for investment purposes.
The incident, which occurred between March 20 and 23, highlights growing tension between AML and the Government over the future of Liberia’s critical rail and iron ore port infrastructure.
The ESIA mission ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and further sanctioned by both the Ministries of Mines and Energy (MME) and Transport (MoT), was intended to enable Ivanhoe to conduct environmental baseline studies as part of its preparatory steps toward using the Yekepa-to-Buchanan rail.
The exercise mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and supported by letters from Mines Minister Wilmot Paye, and Transport Minister Sirleaf Tyler requesting AML’s “full cooperation and support” to allow the Ivanhoe ESIA team to carry out the assessment within AML’s concession area was prevented by AML, despite requests from three GOL entities that Ivanhoe Atlantic should proceed.
The communication from Transport Minister Tyler not only reiterated the government’s directive but also assigned a Ministry official to accompany the team to ensure coordination and compliance.
But AML, in a letter signed by CEO Michiel van der Merwe, rebuffed the request, describing it as lacking legal basis. “There appears to be no basis under the MDA that would permit such third-party access to our Concession Area,” AML stated, referring to its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed with the Government of Liberia in 2005.
The company further argued that the request arrived “after the commencement” of the ESIA schedule, making it “impossible” to accommodate. That claim is however debunked by the Ministry of Transport letter which according to MOT officials arrived even before commencement of the ESIA.
More pointedly, AML suggested that allowing the ESIA to proceed could interfere with ongoing negotiations over its Third Amendment to the MDA, which it says includes discussions about its continued rights as rail operator. The letter also referenced concerns about the “proposed Ivanhoe Arrangement,” implying that the ESIA could be linked to an agreement that would, in their view, conflict with AML’s existing rights.
Sources in the GOL have confirmed that the Government intends to transition to an Independent Operator only after the current AML MDA expires in 2030, and there is nothing in the current MDA that requires AML operates the rail under a multi user system.
Furthermore, the Government of Liberia’s own communications reflect an explicit policy shift toward a multiuser rail model, as articulated in Executive Order No. 136, issued by President Joseph Boakai. Under this directive, all rail infrastructure is to transition to open, regulated access by 2030. Ivanhoe, one of the intended primary users, has been in negotiations with the government for a rail access agreement and has previously committed over US$1.6 billion in projected revenue to the state through haulage fees over the life of its mining project, hundreds of millions more in taxes and infrastructure investment.
The Ministry of Transport’s field report, which was submitted days after the incomplete ESIA mission and obtained by the Observer from sources in Government, lays bare the sequence of events. However, the Ivanhoe team was turned away twice at the Tokadeh Mines gate in Nimba County. On March 21 and again on March 22, AML’s security personnel denied access to the ESIA team, despite them presenting a formal government letter authorizing their entry.
The security team cited a lack of direct instruction from AML’s headquarters. Whereas the team was able to complete its work in the Port of Buchanan, and other areas from the Guinean border to villages and towns along the rail corridor, it was unable to access the potential loading area in Tokadeh, Nimba County under AML”s concession.
Efforts to reach AML officials on the ground and in Monrovia were unsuccessful, the report said. Calls and messages to senior staff, including the company’s Special Assistant to the CEO and Head of Sustainability, reportedly went unanswered or resulted in vague non-committal responses. One official admitted over the phone that AML’s Monrovia office “was not informed” about the ESIA. Another fact debunked by GOL officials who reportedly have proofs of delivery of correspondences.
The blocked assessment disrupted critical environmental data collection efforts led by a multidisciplinary team, which included biodiversity experts, air and water quality technicians, and social scientists. The team had planned to sample soil, monitor noise levels, and engage local communities on potential environmental and social risks associated with future mining and rail activities.
ESIAs are a legal and technical prerequisite under Liberian law for any infrastructure project with potential environmental and community impact. In the context of rail and mining operations, an ESIA ensures that stakeholders understand and mitigate risks ranging from ecosystem disturbance to displacement and safety hazards.
For the government, this process is foundational to its long-term infrastructure planning and regulatory enforcement.
AML’s refusal to grant access raises significant questions about its willingness to support the multiuser framework it publicly claims to endorse. The company’s letter to the government states that AML “remains fully committed” to a multiuser system, but only one that is “consistent with our MDA rights.” However, in practice, its actions—such as blocking government-sanctioned environmental assessments—demonstrate resistance to ceding any operational control or accommodating other users on the rail.
This isn’t the first time AML has been accused of obstructing government initiatives tied to multiuser access. In 2022, the Ministry of Mines and Energy wrote to the company, citing its “continued lack of collaboration with regulatory authorities” and its failure to fulfill specific obligations under the MDA. These included delays in infrastructure rehabilitation and non-compliance with certain social and environmental commitments.
More recently, AML’s own 2023 annual report revealed financial losses due in part to “operational inefficiencies and rail logistics setbacks,” including several derailments along the Yekepa-Buchanan route. Some of these incidents resulted in fatalities, further raising concerns about AML’s operational fitness to continue as the sole rail operator in the corridor.
In light of these developments, sources close to the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) say the government is determined by 2030 when the AML current MDA ends, to move forward with an independent rail operator model. This would remove operational control from any one mining company, including AML, and place it in the hands of a neutral, regulated entity overseen by the National Rail Authority.
With an estimated 11 billion tons of untapped iron ore in the rail corridor, Liberia stands to unlock billions in revenue if the infrastructure is shared equitably. But that vision depends on cooperation from all stakeholders—including AML, which continues to wield de facto control over the nation’s only active heavy-haul rail line.
Whether that cooperation will be forthcoming remains to be seen. For now, AML’s posture suggests a company digging in to maintain and protect a monopoly that the general sentiments of the public is against, even as the government signals its intent to open the tracks for all.
In the words of one Government official, “they will eventually get the point that the days of behaving like they are a State within a State will soon be over. The policy arena is shifting right under them as directed by the President himself, and they are desperately trying to maintain a monopolistic posture that is no longer good for Liberia.
In the meantime, negotiations with Ivanhoe Atlantic and other potential rail operators for the sector continue and there is no turning back.”
