Mineral Sector Policies
A National Strategy for Critical Minerals in Sierra Leone (2026-2031)
The Hon. Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, officially launched the National Strategy for Critical Minerals in Sierra Leone (2026–2031) on Wednesday, 13th May 2026 at the Bintumani International Conference Centre, Aberdeen, Freetown, at the opening of the 2026 Sierra Leone Mining Week. Themed “Powering Transformation, Stewardship, and Shared Prosperity,” the Strategy sets out the Government’s roadmap for developing and responsibly managing the country’s critical mineral resources — including lithium, platinum group metals, chromite, rare earth elements, and others — in support of the global green energy transition. You can read more about the Strategy and download it below:
Developed by the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the National Minerals Agency, the Strategy builds on reforms including the Mines and Minerals Development Act 2023 and is anchored on four transformational themes: Empowering Transformation, Advancing Stewardship, Catalyzing Shared Prosperity, and Securing Strategic Partnerships. By 2031, it is expected to attract over $2.5 billion in investment, establish 3–5 mineral processing facilities, create more than 45,000 jobs, and generate over $300 million in annual government revenues.
The Sierra Leone Minerals Policy
[The Hon. Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, officially launched three (3) Mineral Sector Policies on Thursday, 9th May 2019 at the Bintumani Conference Hall in Freetown. The three (3) Mineral Sector Policies are the ‘Sierra Leone Minerals Policy’; ‘The Geo-data Management Policy of Sierra Leone’; and the ‘Artisanal Mining Policy’. You can read more about these policies and download them below:
This Minerals Policy has been prepared as part of series of legal, regulatory and institutional reforms introduced by the Government to ensure that Sierra Leone maximizes gains from its mineral resource endowments. These reforms include: the establishment of the National Minerals Agency (NMA) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the enactment of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009, the Public Financial Management Act 2016, the Extractive Industries Revenue Act 2018 and improvements in transparency and accountability mechanisms for the minerals sector. In furtherance of these reforms, the Core Minerals Policy of 2003 is now being replaced by this Sierra Leone Minerals Policy of 2018.
The Geo-data Management Policy
This Policy seeks to show how Government intends to manage geological information in ways that will help all actors – Country, Companies, Communities – get a good deal from mineral assets. The preparation of this policy could not have happened at a better time than now when Government, with support from the World Bank, has embarked on a nationwide airborne geophysical survey. Prudent management of geological data that will be collected during this survey will be critical to Government’s long-term minerals development strategy and this Policy provides the framework within which Government will manage geological data.
The Artisanal Mining Policy
The discovery of diamonds in the Kono district in the 1930s announced Sierra Leone as a mineral rich country but artisanal gold mining commenced much earlier. The Artisanal Mining Policy for Sierra Leone has been prepared as part of a series of reforms introduced by the Government to ensure that Sierra Leone maximizes gains from the exploration and exploitation of its mineral resources. These reforms include: the establishment of the National Minerals Agency (NMA), the adoption of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009, and clarification of mineral agreement requirements, improved environmental protection, direct financing of mining community development projects and many more.
