The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the National Mining Agency(NMA) wishes to make it abundantly clear JM Mining Kenema (SL) Limited was never issued a Large-Scale Mining Licence to undertake mining activities as it is purportedly claimed by the Company.
The company was offered one which It never paid for until the offer lapsed, The facts behind the lapse of Licence Application APL-I-1172 JM Mining Kenema (SL) Limited the Government offered JM Mining a Large-Scale Mining Licence on 23 January 2025 — after the Honourable Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources had personally intervened to help the company resolve a dispute with the Environment Protection Agency.
Under the law, the company had to accept the offer in writing within 30 days and pay the prescribed fees of US$1,100,000 before any licence could be issued. The National Minerals Agency held back the payment demand for six months to give the company time to arrange its financing.
According to the Ministry of Mines and NMA, the fees were never paid — not in 30 days, not in six months, not in the extra grace period the company itself asked for, and not to this day.
On 30 January 2026, after more than a year, the Honourable Minister confirmed that the offer had lapsed.
‘’No licence was ever taken away,’’ Mines Ministry sated. This is the single most important point. What JM Mining received in January 2025 was an approval to grant a licence — a conditional offer. Under section 108(5) of the Mines and Minerals Development Act, the licence could only be issued once the company accepted it in writing and paid the prescribed fees. The company did neither. Because no licence was ever issued, no licence could be, or was, withdrawn,’’ the Ministry of Mines stated.
Record shows a government that went well beyond what the law required to help this investment succeed. On 17 Dec 2023, JM Mining wrote to the Honourable Minister complaining that the Environment Protection Agency had halted its exploration.
On April 16 2024, the Honourable Minister met the company’s Chief Executive in person to discuss the impasse. On 20 May 2024, the Mines Minister wrote again formally to the Company to engage the Minister of Environment to resolve the matter and allow the company to continue its activities — and directing that the National Minerals Agency provide guidance and support throughout the licensing process.
On 18 December, 2024, the Minerals Advisory Board considered the application and recommended approval. On 23 Jan 2025, the approval of the licence offer was conveyed to the company.
The National Minerals Agency between February and July 2025, deliberately withheld the payment demand for about six months, to give the company breathing room while it sought financing.
What the Company failed to do on 24 July 2025 Orders to Pay was issued- US$1,000,000 in licence fees and US$100,000 in monitoring fees, payable within 30 days.
The 30-day deadline passed and nothing was paid. On 28 October 2025, the National Revenue Authority issued a formal payment demand but the company asked for more time till the end of the year.
The company’s own requested deadline passed and nothing was paid. On 29 January 2026, the company asks for a brand-new payment order — admitting the first one was never met.
The Honourable Minister confirmed to the JM Mining Kenema (SL) Ltd the offer has lapsed and has rescinded and the file was closed.
According to the Ministry’s policy, more than a year to pay, the law allowed 30 days to accept the offer, and 30 days to pay the fees.
JM Mining was given 372 days from the date of approval, and 190 days from the date of the payment orders — and still did not pay.
Government of Sierra Leone · Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources ·
The Government does not need to characterise this record. JM Mining acknowledged its default in writing, three times, before any decision was taken. “JM Mining Kenema (SL) Ltd is overdue with regards to paying the annual fee for the Large Scale Mining License, as well the related Monitoring Fee.” — Chief Executive Officer, JM Mining, to the Commissioner General, National Revenue Authority, 31 October 2025
“we are overdue in paying our License fees since August 24, 2025” — Chief Executive Officer, JM Mining, to the Director of Mines, 15 January 2026
“I want to ask for a new Order to Pay for our License and Monitoring Fee.” — Chief Executive Officer, JM Mining, to the Director of Mines on 29 January 2026.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, the company was given more than 12 months, including a six-month delay granted in its favour and a further grace period it requested itself. The company was in good standing. US$1,100,000 in statutory fees has never been paid. The company admitted the default in writing on three separate occasions. The decision was arbitrary. The matter was reviewed by the Minerals Advisory Board, which advised the Honourable Minister before any decision was taken. The company was told in writing where to put its case, and the decision was issued by formal letter setting out its reasons. The Government is hostile to foreign investors.
THE Government’s position Sierra Leone welcomes serious, compliant investment in its minerals sector, and this record shows a Government that went to considerable lengths to help one such investment succeed. But the requirements that applied to JM Mining — accept the offer within thirty days, pay the prescribed fees within thirty days — apply to every applicant for a Large-Scale Mining Licence. To waive them for one company would be to penalise every operator that has met them. The mineral resources of Sierra Leone belong to the people of Sierra Leone. They will be entrusted to those who meet their obligations under the law.
In its conclusion, the Ministry and the National Mineral Agency (NMA) have all supporting correspondence and instruments documented in the files of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the National Minerals Agency.
A full referenced chronology will always be made available.
