Liberia's largest gold miner spilled dangerous chemicals, records show

Описание: (2 Mar 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++PART MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
River Cess, Liberia - 29 January 2026
1. Various aerials of Bea Mountain mining site ++MUTE++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alberta, Canada - 24 February 2026
++VIA VIDEO CALL++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mandy Olsgard, toxicologist: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOTS 3-5++
"This is one of the most contaminated areas I've looked at. The concentrations of arsenic and cyanide in that river, if that were occurring in Canada, it would've triggered full-scale investigations because there were death of fish and there was human health complaints.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
River Cess, Liberia - 29 January 2026
3. Various of forest in River Cess
4. Wide of Liberia's flag
5. Various of residents of River Cess

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Alberta, Canada - 24 February 2026
++VIA VIDEO CALL++
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Mandy Olsgard, toxicologist: ++SOUNDBITE STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT AND IS OVERLAID BY SHOTS 7-8++
"They want to be fishing from the river. They want to be consuming the water from these rivers, using them to wash their clothes and their way of life. So, the government needs to make sure that the rules imposed on these mines protect those ways of life.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
River Cess, Liberia - 29 January 2026
7. Mid of Bea Mountain signpost, reading (English) "Bea Mountain mining corp (BMMC)"
8. Mid of a river
9. SOUNDBITE (Pidgin English) Samuel Sarkpah, River Cess resident: ++SOUNDBITE OVERLAID BY SHOTS 10-11++
"When a company comes to invest in a particular place, it is for the benefit of the people, but we are not benefiting anything."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
River Cess, Liberia - 29 January 2026
10. Wide of resident
11. Wide aerial of River Cess County ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
For generations, families in Jikandor village fished and drank water from a river that runs through Liberia’s dense rainforest.

Now, toxic pollution is forcing them to leave, according to residents.

Villagers blame Bea Mountain Mining Corporation, Liberia’s largest gold miner.

When dead fish rise to the surface, residents said they alerted authorities.

Over several years, cyanide, arsenic and copper repeatedly leaked from Bea Mountain's substandard facilities at levels that Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency described as above legal limits.

That's according to EPA reports that were taken down from its site but later retrieved, as well as interviews with government officials, experts and former company employees.

They provide the most comprehensive accounting yet of the spills.

The EPA documents also show that Bea Mountain failed to alert regulators promptly after a spill in 2022 and previously blocked government inspectors as they tried to access the company’s laboratory and view results of testing.

The records also highlight challenges in government oversight.

For families in Jikandor, the river remains central to daily life.

But many said they no longer trust the water that once sustained them.

“When a company comes to invest in a particular place, it is for the benefit of the people, but we are not benefiting anything,” said Samuel Sarkpah, a River Cess resident.

Liberia’s government holds a 5% stake in the mining operation and has the authority under national law to suspend or terminate licences if companies fail to meet environmental obligations.

Enforcement has often been weak, with the World Bank citing limited state capacity as a constraint.


The investigation could not confirm what companies ultimately used the gold.


A follow-up visit is planned for 2026.







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