YEKEPA – Kleber Silva, executive vice president and CEO of ArcelorMittal Mining, returned to Liberia Tuesday with a powerful message: safety must be lived, practiced and prioritized at all times in the mining sector.
Silva, a Brazilian mining executive renowned for his strategic leadership and technical expertise, visited ArcelorMittal Liberia’s operations in Yekepa as part of the company’s annual Health and Safety Day celebration.
His visit follows ArcelorMittal Liberia’s 20th anniversary celebration weeks earlier, where he joined executives and staff in onboarding more than 230 young Liberians as artisans and process operators—a key step in the company’s renewed drive for local employment and skills development.
Silva’s presence in Liberia is often seen within the company as a sign of major operational progress. Staff associate his visits with pivotal developments in ArcelorMittal’s ambitious Phase II expansion project—a multi-billion-dollar initiative that includes the commissioning of Liberia’s first ore concentrator, and upgrades to the nation’s rail and port infrastructure. The expansion is projected to significantly increase production and generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Under Silva’s leadership, ArcelorMittal has become Liberia’s largest private employer outside of government, with more than 7,000 direct and indirect jobs—98 percent of them held by Liberians.
To support daily operations of five 120-wagon ore trains, ArcelorMittal has invested $800 million to upgrade the 243-kilometer heavy haul railway, originally built to U.S. standards. Wooden ties have been fully replaced with steel sleepers across the line, and all nine rail loops are being extended to accommodate longer trains. The Wabtec rail control system is also being upgraded to improve safety and efficiency.
The company has acquired nine new GE locomotives and 500 additional wagons with modern undercarriages. It has constructed new sidings and level crossings, reinforced the rail bed with stone ballast, and expanded the Buchanan yard to meet increased traffic and logistical demand.
Yet, Silva’s latest visit was not focused solely on infrastructure and production.
Standing before workers in Yekepa Tuesday morning, he issued a clarion call for vigilance, personal responsibility and a culture of shared accountability in health and safety.
“Please, let’s be very, very strong,” Silva urged. “A mine of safety, where the best does not appear, where we correct the best, where we work preventively—and we are safe.”
A seasoned mining engineer with more than 30 years of experience—including senior roles at Vale and Anglo American—Silva has long championed the integration of safety and sustainability into large-scale mining operations. Since joining ArcelorMittal in 2017, he has consistently emphasized operational excellence and a global “zero harm” culture.
In Yekepa, Silva’s remarks echoed with both executive authority and personal conviction.
“There’s nothing more precious than this,” he said, referencing worker safety. “We think about it all the time—to take preventive action, and to create an environment where incidents no longer happen.”
He pointed to ArcelorMittal’s Tarso Amitar site, which has achieved 34 consecutive years without a lost-time accident, as a global benchmark. “We are building that here in Liberia,” he said.
With more than 10,000 people working across ArcelorMittal Liberia’s operations—including mining, rail and port facilities—Silva stressed that safety is everyone’s responsibility.
“For the people we love, for our families, for ourselves, for God, for everything that is most valuable in our lives, let’s work very, very strong—all of us,” he said.
He emphasized that safety should be practiced “24/7”—not just at work, but at home.
“Let’s celebrate each day we can go home safe,” Silva said. “If we work together, we construct this every single day.”
As ArcelorMittal transitions into its next phase of operations, Silva’s balanced focus on expansion and care reflects the company’s commitment to building a world-class mining operation rooted in local development, skills transfer and long-term partnership with Liberia.
“I’m sure we’ll be extremely proud to say that we—Liberia, our mine, our railroad, our plant, our port—achieved zero [harm], forever,” he said. “And we can continue to operate in this beautiful mine and beautiful country forever, without any incident.”
Silva’s remarks have resonated beyond the company’s workforce, reaffirming to employees, stakeholders and the Liberian public that ArcelorMittal’s success is measured not only in ore shipped, but in lives empowered, protected and uplifted.
During a 2024 visit to Liberia, ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman Lakshmi Mittal committed an additional $1.4 billion investment, raising the company’s total investment in Liberia to more than $3 billion. That capital is backing the transformative Phase II expansion, now being executed under Silva’s direction.
The expansion has already created over 3,000 new jobs, increased tax revenues and county social development funds, and provided vital skills training—both domestically and internationally—as negotiations for the Third Amended Mineral Development Agreement near conclusion.
ArcelorMittal Liberia remains the country’s largest private investor and one of its most enduring development partners.
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