The formerly named Kingho Investment Company Ltd., now Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), was established in Sierra Leone in July 2010 and registered under the Company's Act of 2009 (Act No. 5) on July 29, 2016 with the name KINGHO INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED.

On Monday, October 4, 2021, the Chinese-owned company, Kingho Investment Company Limited, located at 20 Signal Hill Road, Freetown, in the Republic of Sierra Leone's Western Area, announced its new nomenclature, Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), a parent company of Kingho Mining Company and Kingho Railway & Port Company for Chinese companies. This is a drive to localize the foreign-based Chinese company and give it a local flavor for citizens. The Chinese metal giant in Sierra Leone operates under the philosophy that it is willing to take decisive action to advance the country's economic growth, improve the lives of its citizens, and propel it to the next development stage of the global arena. It has an unwavering commitment to advancing Sierra Leone and Africa’s industrial revolution over the long term. The company has positioned itself to be an internationally comprehensive enterprise integrating mining, processing, smelting, and steel production in Sierra Leone through their integrated iron ore supply chain from mine to steel.

1. Sharing my views about LRMG Company-SL as a Resident from Tonkolili District

The author, Koroma Abu Bakarr, was born and grew up in the district where the company hosts most of its primary operations. I’m currently a Chinese Government Scholarship student at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in China (UESTC) pursuing a master’s degree in public management.

Before traveling to China to pursue my studies, I was the Tonkolili District Youth Council Secretary General, a capacity that places me as the head of the secretariat for matters relating to young people in the district. I was also appointed by the President, H.E. Julius Maada Bio, to serve as the District Executive Support Officer. I mentioned these two capacities because it was through them that I was able to interface with the Leone Rock Metal Group management, firstly with their deputy community affairs manager, Mr. Ansu Momoh, at a well-attended stakeholders’ meeting in the district headquarter town, Magburaka. As a District Youth Council Secretary General, I was invited to speak on behalf of the young people in the district. Mr. Ansu Momoh introduced me to a host of the senior officials of LRMG who attended that meeting. An encounter with the deputy community affairs manager and being introduced to most of the top management staff of the company was an opportunity for me as a youth representative. What I heard about the company’s operation was scintillating and mind-blowing, which left me wondering why such information does not regularly come to the public domain. My prepared speech to blame it on the Chinese company for their operations changed to showering praise for their diligent and committed service through their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) which was unflappable and so distinguished. In that meeting, another important point of discussion was the company’s commitment to compliance with health and environmental precautions in their operations.

A few months later, another stakeholders’ engagement meeting was summoned again, but this time, for the payment of surface rent to the community and the announcement of the company's new operational trajectory. Behold, this time the company also announces a package to support institutions within the district, including the police force, the local council, the district office, and others. All what these institutions need is to put together a bill of quantities (BOQ) with a request for support through the regional coordinating committee’s desk and forward it to the company. This is very difficult to witness in the current corporate environment, where everyone company focuses on ways to escape the burden of responsibility. However, LMRG has stood exceptionally tall. As a key participant in this meeting, I was left speechless by the gesture of the Chinese-Sierra Leone-based mining company. A few weeks later, in August 2022, after the promise was made at the stakeholders’ meeting, the tonkolili district office received consignments of laptops, printers, and other office support equipment and stationery as a fulfilment of the promise the company’s management made. In a similar request, they also supported the police, the district council office, and a sister district, Bombali City Council, on March 25 with cleaning equipment worth millions of Leones to keep the city clean, to name but a few.

Due to the company’s unabated contributions to the growth and development of young people in the district and the country as a whole, they were conferred the National Meritorious Award as the Best Mining Company in Sierra Leone by a youth-renowned organization, the Youth Empowerment Development Association (YEDA).

A company with a whooping investment worth over $595,707,020.65 that is said to have employed over 3,644 Sierra Leone and is ready to do more is worth complimenting for the marvellous work done.

In my perspective, as a resident of the district that hosts the main operations of LMRG, the steel mines, I’m very optimistic they are really leaving indelible imprints of a transformative company that not only focuses on exploring the minerals from the naturally endowed mineral-rich district and making profit but are also contributing to the welfare of its people.

Donation from LRMG to Facelift the District Office                

The author (2^nd from Left) in LRMG meeting

2. LRMG’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibilities and Other National Contributions

As it spearheads environmental stewardship with generous donations and green initiatives in the country. The corporation donated a substantial sum of forty thousand leones (NLE 40,000), an equivalent of $1,700, to the Students Association for Environmental Protection and Transformation on January 27, 2024, demonstrating their unwavering devotion to the cause of environmental protection in the country by inaugurating the "Climate Change Achievement Awards and National Conference" with the subject "Re Green Sierra Leone," which is intended to be supported by the Chinese company’s wonderful donation. The company's unwavering commitment to environmental protection and its intense attention to climate challenges have brought about unparalleled realities in the homeland.

They have proudly proclaimed that, as a socially conscious corporation, they have made significant progress toward going "green" by acquiring electric vehicles and putting sustainable mining processes into place that would support green environmental regulations.

Photo credit: LRMG Facebook handle - Partner for the Climate Change Conference

On December 12, 2023, the company unveiled and awarded ten (10) winners of their Creative Online Interactive Experience Game (COIEG), a game that steers the public's online participation in the activities of the company. It involves participants actively engaging with LRMG on social media platforms by posting about LRMG on their social media handles, liking all of LRMG's social accounts, and sharing and commenting on LRMG's posts. Ansu Momoh, the LRMG deputy community affairs manager, and Peter Peng, the manager of media and public relations, presented the awards to the 10 winners of the online platforms. The winners displayed their talents with moving poems and passionate comments about the company operations in the homeland and ceremony was sandwiched with a lot of other activities in celebration of the company’s contribution to the country. The attendees expressed their sincere gratitude for LRMG's initiative and asked for more funding to assist such projects in the future.

Photo credit: Leone Rock Facebook handle - From L-R:  Peter Peng, Ansu Momoh, & 2 of the 10 Winners of the LRMG COIEG; the Leone Rock Metal Group's Donation to Empower Youth and Fuels Growth in Sierra Leone

In a remarkable display of their unabated discharge of their corporate social responsibility, Leone Rock Metal Group has once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to the development of the nation's youth as they made a huge donation gesture. On August 19, 2023, for the sum of forty thousand leones (NLe 40,000), an equivalent of $1,700, the Youth and Children Advocacy Panel (YACAP) will implement the 6th edition of the Sierra Leone National Youth Leadership Conference. YACAP is a highly regarded youth platform that aims to foster the growth and development of young people in Sierra Leone and beyond. Their annual activities provide unique opportunities for vibrant young voices to amplify the importance of youth in society and promote skill development in various sectors.

The company has also participated in some community projects, including the construction of schools and hospitals and providing medical aid to the people in the concessional areas. This has helped to improve the health conditions of residents around their operational areas.

Photo credit: LRMG Facebook handle; medical support to concessional communities

With its unlimited show of diversity to the people, have also extended to donations of food items during the Holy Month of Ramadan and during the Christmas festivities that has continue to define their unabated stance and cooperation with the values of the local people.

Photo credit: LRMG Facebook handle - Christmas festivities’ donations to Christians around concessional areas

As Sierra Leone continues its trajectory towards progress and prosperity, it is crucial for more corporations operating in Sierra Leone to emulate the efforts of Leone Rock Metal Group by prioritizing the actualization of their corporate social responsibilities and other support services, like youth empowerment, supporting community development programs, answering national development calls, supporting education, and other sustainable development activities that can help shape a brighter future for the nation and its young generation.

On November 10, 2023, the company donates five thousand United States dollars ($5000) to the Freetown Golf Club and continues to invest in the country’s sporting activities for a brighter future. The donation is part of a contribution to help repair the facilities at the club.

The company's continued dedication to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects across all sectors in the country was emphasized by Peter Peng, Manager of the PR and Media Unit of Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), in a warm statement. He highlighted how committed LRMG is to giving back to the community and revealed that the company has set aside three hundred thousand (NLe 300,000), an equivalent of $1,325 every month, for its CSR initiatives, with intentions to increase this amount going forward.

The company has continued to unabatedly do due diligence on their payments of the Surface and Community Developments coffers to the Rail and Port Communities, which has earned them their current accolade and goodwill status from the 6^th Parliament of the Sierra Leone Republic. The 2023 payment of Community Development Agreement (CDA) funds to primary host communities within their concessional areas amounted to Le20.3 billion ($898,300, approximately). This happens on Thursday, March 30th, 2023, at the Magburaka town field in northern-eastern Sierra Leone.

The CDA 1% mining revenue payment comes into existence as a result of a provision enshrined in the Mines & Minerals Act, 2009, and as revised in the 2022 Mines & Minerals Development Act, which states such payment to the host communities. This payment of the annual CDA funds to host mining communities has boosted economic development and continues to transform the lives of people living along these operational zones.

The Kingho Mining Company is actively concerned about the socio-economic life of its operational communities and has deemed it prudent that the company accelerate the implementation of the CDA payments and other community interventions to continue to showcase their unfeigned commitment to the agreement and the development of the country as a whole. The company has been commended by the country's president for maintaining commitment to the SDA payment as an investment in local sustainable livelihood and community development projects. On this occasion, the president and a host of his high-profile government authorities have attended for the second time since the Mines and Minerals Development Act was passed in 2022. The CDA does not only support the economic viability and resilience of these host concessional mining communities but will also leave a positive hallmark that will go down in history. This company’s community development strategies have showcased its positive intentions in rolling out the development projects needed in mining-affected communities within its concession in Tonkolili District.

Photo credit: Sierraloaded - L-R: CEO of Leone Rock Metal Group, Gilbert Zhao, President of Sierra Leone, H.E Rtd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, P.C Baimba Foray Musa Jalloh, and Hon. Mohamed Abu Abu

During his state visit to China, through the invitation of the Chinese president, Xi Jing Ping, H.E. Julius Maada Bio also visited the Chengde Steel Plant, the parent company of LRMG, which is owned by a partner company called Chengde Jianlong Special Steel Co. Ltd., where he met with the president of China Kingho Energy Group, Colin Ding. The Sierra Leone president had a frank discussion with his Chinese counterparts on how to strengthen bilateral ties and harness economic development. The Chief Executive Officer of Leone Rock Metal Group, Gilbert Zhao, expressed his unflinching commitments to the West African market and his drive to see his group of companies grow to another level that will bring benefits to both China and Sierra Leone.

In his drive to close the significant gap in steel production in Africa and the lack of steel companies, especially in the West African region, the CEO, Gilbert Zhao, emphasized his company’s commitment to the construction of a steel plant that is expected to start in 2025, which will enhance steel production in the homeland. This will, however, serve as an eye-opener to the long call of the people of Sierra Leone to see their mineral resources processed in the country.

Maybe, with Leone Rock Metal Group, it’s about time to see more “Made in Sierra Leone products in the world market.

Photo credit: State House Communications, Office of the Press Secretary – Sierra Leone                                                             

 The President of Sierra Leone and entourage at Chengde Steel Plant, China.

3. Leone Rock Metal Group Support to Football in the Country

In October 2023, in front of a sizable gallery of prominent personalities at the Radisson Blau Hotel in the country’s capital, Freetown, a conference that included the country’s Minister of Sports, Madam Augusta James Teima, the executive director of the National Sport Authority, the vice president of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA), and other well-known figures from both the country’s football body and mining sectors signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing sponsorship of the country’s most cherished sport, football. As part of the MOU between the Sierra Leone Premier League Board and Leone Rock Metal Group, the company has consented to a sponsorship package of Le1,936,000 billion ($80,000 approximately), an epoch in the country’s football history. Along with monthly awards for coaches and players of the month, the agreement also grants authorities their official uniforms and the exclusive authority to call the league the "Leone Rock Premier League."

Leone Rock Metal Group is the first mining company in the country to set the record for a full sponsorship agreement for the country’s men’s top-tier football club competition, a move referred to as a great milestone in the country’s football history. The Sierra Leone Football League is officially named after the Chinese Mining Company, “Leone Rock Premier League.”.

With the historic boost from the sponsorship deal, the 2023–2024 Leone Rock Premier League, which kicked off on November 3rd, 2023, will see the league winner pocket Le500 million ($22,000 approximately), and the runners-up will get Le250 million ($11,000 approximately), as the Leone Rock Premier League Board announces. In addition, the board awarded each club Le80 million ($3,500) as a season booster.

Photo credit: Leone Rock Facebook handle - Signing of the MOU between Leone Rock Metal Group and Sierra Leone Premier League Board

Further to this sponsorship deal and other notable philanthropist activities undertaken by the Chinese company, on August 23, 2023, a momentous occasion took place at the anchorage outside Rizhao Port in Shandong Province that served as the epoch and official launch of the company’s maiden voyage, LEONE FORTUNE, a CAPE-size vessel under the Leone Rock Metal Group of companies, which marked a significant milestone for Leone Rock Metal Group's iron ore exportation drive in the country. Representatives of Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), the vessel management company, and the entire crew gathered with joy and excitement to witness the history-making ceremony of Leone Fortune, whose specific mission is to ship the iron ore from Sierra Leone to China for processing.

The rise of Leone Fortune is a symbol of hope and the start of an amazing adventure for the company as well as the mining sector in the country, which denotes growth and progress. The effective China-Sierra Leone cooperation plan that has been in place since 1971 is in line with the commissioning of Leone Fortune. The ship's contribution to the shipment of iron ore from Sierra Leone to China keeps the two countries' economic relations stronger.

The goal of Leone Rock Metal Group (LMRG) to become a global comprehensive resource development enterprise emphasizes how crucial it is to form an alliance that promotes development and prosperity for both countries. The triumphant inaugural journey not only creates novel prospects for LRMG but also strengthens the robust relationship between China and Sierra Leone.

The company has been entrusted with the country’s management of railways and ports, which authorities say is a step in the right direction. The company is known for its remarkable track record in managing and integrating railways and ports globally, which is why the 6th Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone passed a lease agreement between the government of Sierra Leone and LRMG, a landmark partnership that supports the government's vision of boosting employment and the nation's economic prospects. This action is a significant step taken toward fostering economic growth and improving the general well-being of citizens. The Sierra Leone Parliament's approval of this rail and port agreement represents, among other things, a unique opportunity to express gratitude for the company's development efforts over the years and as an appeaser for them to do more. This unparalleled confidence that the Sierra Leone people have reposed on the operations of the Chinese led to the government's decision to enter into this agreement, which holds tremendous potential for the modernization, expansion, and improved maintenance of the tail and port infrastructure in the country. With this, the transportation of mineral commodities and other agricultural products within the country is expected to become more efficient. The development of port facilities under this agreement will contribute to an increase in cargo volume, enhanced cargo handling capabilities, and improved international trade. These advancements are set to create job opportunities within the region, further benefiting the people of Sierra Leone.

4. About the future

As an international student in China, I have witnessed the positive changes that Chinese enterprises have brought to Africa. Their investments and projects have not only created jobs, but also promoted the development of the local economy. At the same time, as a witness of the cooperation and development between Sierra Leone and LRMG, I hope that more Chinese-funded enterprises will continue to play an important role in Africa, and I also look forward to applying what I have learned in practice, and contributing more to the friendship between China and Africa and the common development of the two countries. It is gratifying to see that LRMG is actively practicing its corporate social responsibility by carrying out a large number of charitable activities throughout Sierra Leone. Besides, the local people also call for more Chinese enterprises to come to Sierra Leone to establish steel processing plants. Compared with ships loaded with raw materials and sailing to China or other overseas countries, the people are more eager to see the steel processing plants bring more development dividends, more employment opportunities and more rapid economic development to Sierra Leone.

In order to achieve good and sustainable development, LRMG needs to do more to encourage public participation in its activities, for example, by continuing to run creative online interactive experience games and adding some public engagement activities to them to bridge the gap between public perception and reality. The group also needs to take proactive measures, such as conducting in-depth risk assessments of potential community projects, complying with laws and regulations, respecting local values and traditions, actively engaging with local communities, and continuing to make substantial community development investments. In addition, the company needs to strengthen its partnerships, which can help to defuse problems with local community members in the course of its operations.

 References

https://sierraloaded.sl/local/leone-rock-metal-group-pays-le-20-billion-concessional-communities/

Leone Rock Metal Group Facebook handle

State House Communications (2024); Office of the Press Secretary/ press statement 1^st March, 2024.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Government of Sierra Leone or the Leone Rock Metal Group or anyone. However, the author seeks to publish a well-organized, issue-oriented article on the topic “Investing in Sierra Leone socio-economic development; Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG) takes the lead in different sectors”.

Name: Koroma Abu Bakarr

Contact: +8619108234492

Email: abubkoroma46@gmail.com

Program: Master of Public Management – 2^nd year

Institution: School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) Institute of National Governance and Public Policy

Centre for West African Studies (CWAS) of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC)