Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Umaru Napoleon Koroma has re-echoed calls for Sierra Leone to heavily invest in its mineral exploration efforts so that the country would not only own the data on its mineral prospects but can also add value to its minerals before export.

Umaru Napoleon Koroma was delivering a keynote to mark the end of an eventful four days Mining Week organized by the Ministry of Mines in collaboration with the National Minerals Agency and other relevant Government institutions.

The Deputy Minister, who has been a longtime advocate for increased national autonomy on mineral extraction and processing called on development partners and investors to support those national aspirations without delay.

“The week has provided a true moment of introspection and retrospection on how we govern our mineral resources to create prosperity for both present and future generations….” he averred.

Umaru Napoleon Koroma’s short keynote summarized the discussions that dominated the mining week as all stakeholders who attended agreed it is high time we break the cycle of exporting our minerals and importing debts.