Fact Check: Does Bea Mountain Airstrip Have a Private Airstrip?

In Summary:

• Liberian journalist Charles B. Yates has claimed that the Bea Mountain Mining Corporation is operating a private airstrip in Grand Cape Mount County, alleging that the company secretly airlifts gold and other minerals.

• We have verified that the company has a private airstrip, which is listed as a private airstrip in the area, but the initial photo shared by the Journalist is not the company’s.

• We also found no evidence that the facility is used to “secretly airlift” gold and other minerals

A Liberian Journalist, Charles B. Yates, posted a picture of an airstrip, claiming it is a private airstrip operated by Bea Mountain Mining Company in the jungle of Grand Cape Mount County, allegedly used to airlift gold and other minerals.

Yates made this claim on Saturday, September 20, suggesting that the company’s use of this airstrip was a deviation from its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA), as the shipments were supposedly taking place without government representatives present to monitor them.

Two hours later, after the post had gained considerable attention – 173 reactions, 172 comments, and 41 shares – he replaced the initial photograph with an image of the company’s signboard. He later followed up with another post, noting that the company had reached out to him, confirming ownership of an airstrip, but clarified that the photo he initially shared did not belong to them.

The Claim

An excerpt of his post reads: “Are you aware that Bea Mountain has a Private airstrip in the middle of the jungle in Grand Cape Mount County that they used to airlift gold and other minerals from Cape Mount without any government representative on the ground to monitor their shipment.”

Rating Justification

To verify whether the mining company has the authority to own an airstrip, we reviewed its Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed with the Government of Liberia.

A review of page #22 of the MDA shows that the agreement grants the company and its associates the right to use aircraft in accordance with law, whether owned or rented, for travel within and outside Liberia, along with landing and parking rights at all airports, airfields, and landing strips in the country.

The MDA also requires the government to permit the company access to all airport and port facilities, except those reserved for military and national security purposes, at the lowest applicable fees.

Screenshot of Page 22 of the MDA granting BMMC the use of aircraft and landing rights

Additionally, we reviewed the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority’s website and found a 2020 list of 15 serviceable aerodromes in Liberia.

Among them is the Liberty Airstrip, identified as a private facility located in Kinjor, Grand Cape Mount County, where the mining company operates.

Conclusion

Based on the evidence, we conclude that the claim made by Journalist Charles Yates that Bea Mountain Company operates a private airstrip in its concession area is correct.

The Liberty Airstrip, which is located in Kinjour, where the company operates, is listed by the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority as a private facility in the area.

However, we did not find evidence that the company uses the facility to airlift gold and other minerals as claimed by Mr. Yates.

Editor’s Note:

This fact check was produced by Local Voices Liberia with support from the European Union through the Liberia Media Empowerment Program (LMEP). The funder had no say in the editorial decision leading to the production of this fact-check report.  Read the original fact-check report here.