“Huge” deposits of iron ore have been found in The Gambia. This joyous discovery, which was revealed by President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, is in addition to the discovery of offshore oil deposits disclosed three years ago.

However, the president maintained that he would not reveal the specific location, where the iron ore deposits have been found, until all the modalities have been finalised and tests carried on the quality.

The Gambian leader made this revelation in his office at State House, last afternoon, after receiving a D4 million cheque from Salah Ezzeddine of the East Line Company, which operates in three Gulf States namely: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The amount represents a royalty on the export of 10,000 metric tonnes of sand minerals from The Gambia, which was the consignment seized from Carnegie Minerals Gambia Limited. The company’s operational license had been revoked by the government after it was found to be involved in “illegal” operational activities.

At the meeting, President Jammeh was upbeat about the quality of The Gambia’s iron ore, saying: “Allah will provide the country with the best quality once the tests have been carried out, for the betterment of the country”.

He told the meeting that he will announce another “discovery”, as soon as the iron ore exportation begins, stressing the need for attitudinal change for rapid transformation of The Gambia.

‘Carnergie robbed us’

Dr Jammeh went on to give a detailed and comprehensive explanation of what led to the revocation of the licence of Carnergie Minerals Gambia Ltd. According to him, the company robbed The country of its resources, as they were engaged in a “game of deception”.

He recalled that at the start, the company took 400 containers of sand minerals from the country, on the pretext of performing tests. He added that since then, no true picture has been given to the government on the outcome of the tests.

“From day one, Carnegie’s intention was to exploit us [Gambians]”, he said, adding that the company was able to give not more than D1 million to government, despite the huge extraction from the country.

This, amongst other illegal activities of the company, compelled the government to enter into a partnership with a honest firm called East Line Company.

For his part, Salah Ezzedine of East Line Company, thanked President Jammeh for giving them the opportunity to carry out their operations in the country. He promised to do his utmost in order to live up to expectations as desired by President Jammeh, for Gambians to reap the maximum benefit from their mineral resources.

Vice President Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy and Muhammed Bazzi, the CEO of Gampetroleum, also spoke at the ceremony, which was also attended by secretaries of state, the secretary general and head of the Civil Service, and the new Inspector General of Police, Ensa Badjie.