MONROVIA – The Supreme Court of Liberia has upheld a lower court ruling ordering the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Diamond Dealers Association to return a 53.34 carat diamond to two licensed miners or pay them the fair market value of the stone.
In its judgment delivered on August 14, 2025, the nation’s highest court, sitting in its March Term, affirmed a decision of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, Montserrado County, which had reversed an earlier administrative action by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The case involved co-appellees T. David Sluward and Abraham Kamara, holders of a Class “C” Mining License in Gbarma Statutory District, Gbarpolu County, who petitioned the courts after the government attempted to claim ownership of the diamond.
Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, reading for the bench, ruled that while Liberia’s Constitution vests all mineral resources in the Republic, these rights can be legally transferred through licenses issued by the government. The court noted that the miners had submitted a timely renewal application for their Class “C” license on March 17, 2022, prior to its expiration on May 25, 2022. The Ministry later renewed the license on April 28, 2023, based on that earlier application.
The Supreme Court held that under the Mining and Minerals Law of Liberia, once a renewal application is filed within the prescribed time, no mineral right can be reassigned until a decision has been made. In this case, the renewal was valid and therefore it was unlawful for the Ministry to claim automatic reversion of the diamond to the Republic.
The judgment ordered the appellants, including the Minister of Mines and Energy and the Diamond Dealers Association, to return the diamond to Sluward and Kamara, or alternatively pay them the fair market value of a diamond of such carat. The Clerk of Court was instructed to issue a mandate to the Civil Law Court to enforce the ruling.
Like this:
Like Loading…
