(pradd) – liberia - Land Tenure and Property Rights Portal

Low-cost licensing is key to increase registration, but compared to the cost per size, the licensing fee itself isnot unreasonable. In both PRADD community consultations and United Nations Development Programstudies, 27 some miners indicated that they would be willing to pay more if there is a way to ensure thatbenefits return directly to the community. A total of 89 percent of unlicensed miners indicated that a licensingfee below $100 would be preferable (61 percent are willing to pay $50-$100, while 28 percent are willing topay less than $50).The duration of the license is unrealistic in proportion to the size of the claim. PRADD studies show thatminers can work a maximum of 10 percent of the 25-acre claim during the one-year license period. It can takea miner up to 10 years to exhaust a claim—some miners have indicated that their families have been mining asingle pit for more than 20 years—and still the mineral recovery rate averages between 25-40 percent, whichis inefficient. 28 Another consequence of the large claim size is that it forces miners to look for financialsupport to mine the claim efficiently, which proliferates the poverty cycle. Furthermore, communitiesindicated that illegal miners from neighboring countries come to Liberia as the claims are much bigger andpolicing is weak. However, they are not entitled to Class C ADM licenses.Originally, a claim was awarded over a specific water body. As mining activities increased and moved inland, theclaim size was modeled after the American gold claims of 25 acres. Miners are entitled to have up to four claims(MML, Section 6.3.d) of no more than 25 acres each. In many instances, and due to surveying methods employed,claims are more than 25 acres. The surveying procedures in the Regulations in terms of the Mining Act of 1979still appear to be applied. As the Mining Act has been repealed, these practices lack legitimacy and consistency.The methods of using “meets and bounds” and natural boundary markers are not accurate enough to use forintegrated land use planning purposes, nor is it adequate to prevent boundary disputes.The recommendations in this regard, and after considering the cost and ASDM claim sizes in neighboringcountries, are as follows: instead of simply reducing the licensing cost for a 25-acre claim alone, rather reducethe claim size and reduce the price proportionately. MML can also consider extending the license period totwo years. Specifically, the recommendation is to decrease the size of the claim to 5 acres for a one-yearperiod at $40 per license, or to 10 acres for two years at $75. Considering that licensing costs pre-1990 were$450, this is still in keeping with the licensing cost in neighboring countries and still affordable to miners.Such a fee would yield enough revenue to create a benefit-sharing scheme and reinvest money intoenvironmental reclamation. The baseline survey indicated that licensed miners receive almost 80 percent morefor their diamonds if they are licensed, so they would directly benefit from registration.Before any attempt to reduce the claim size, MML should carefully consider that miners often also farm onmining claims for subsistence, and that claims are often passed down through generations. As long as there isuncertainty over the status and legitimacy of customary tenure, it is likely that a decrease in size withoutproper consultation with ADMs will provoke violent responses. A programmatic approach should befollowed, such as first reducing the size of the second, third, and fourth claims. Miners should be consulted inthis regard, to determine what size is feasible in the one-year period, and consideration should be given to theoption of extending the licensing period to two years, to limit costs.7.4 EXTEND THE LICENSING PERIODDue to the six-month long rainy season in Liberia, miners can only mine effectively for about six months oftheir license period before they have to return to Liberia to get their licenses renewed. As indicated beforewith regard to the license terms and conditions, it is recommended that the license period be extended to twoyears. Depending on whether the claim size and license cost are reduced accordingly, miners are more likelyto obtain licenses and to register their production if they can afford to do so. MLME should raise awareness27Gamaio Wallace, C and Lepol, R.J. 2008. UNDP. 160.28Gamaio Wallace and Lepol. 2008. 38.PRADD LIBERIA: A REVIEW OF THE LEGAL, REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORKGOVERNING ARTISANAL DIAMOND MINING IN LIBERIA 25