{"id":4706,"date":"2024-02-27T16:48:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T16:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/?p=4706"},"modified":"2024-02-27T20:51:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T20:51:10","slug":"illegal-miners-run-away-after-daylight-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stage.thedaylight.org\/wp68\/2024\/02\/27\/illegal-miners-run-away-after-daylight-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Miners Run Away After DayLight Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Top: A truck fleeing Brewerville with Quezp Mining Company\u2019s equipment on Sunday, February 25, 2023. The company had illegally operated in the area for two years until The DayLight exposed it. The DayLight\/Charles Gbayor  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Charles Gbayor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BREWERVILLE; ROYESVILLE \u2013 Miners operating two illegal mines outside Monrovia have fled the communities, three days after a DayLight investigation exposed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the weekend, mineworkers of Quezp Mining Company began fleeing Brewerville and Royesville, where they have mined zircon sand for the last two years. The mineral is used in the ceramics industry, with Australia and Africa as its newest markets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigation unearthed that Quezp does not have a license for the suburban and rural Montserrado communities. Instead, it has two prospecting licenses<\/a> for Kpayan District, Sinoe County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video and pictures shot by a resident and The DayLight show Quezp\u2019s workers dismantling a plant and moving mining equipment away from Brewerville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are happy that nobody will be mining sand on the beach anymore,\u201d said Oliver Wallace, a resident of  Brewerville. \u201cWhat they were doing over there was [negatively] affecting the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DayLight photographed piles of abandoned zircon sand at Quezp\u2019s transferring location in Royesville. Tire impressions in the area had been erased, indicating that the company\u2019s earthmovers had not been there for some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A truck runs away with Quezp\u2019s equipment following a DayLight investigation that unearthed the mining company\u2019s illegal activities in Brewerville and Royesville. The DayLight\/Charles Gbayor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Residents who worked with the company in the illicit trade expressed dismay and frustration over its abrupt departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are moving and I don\u2019t know where they are going for now because no one is saying anything to us,\u201d said Junior Sirleaf, a Royesville resident who was involved in the illicit trade. \u201c<\/strong>I am just hurt that I and some Liberians were used in the illegal sand mining business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A machine dismantles Quezp\u2019s mining plant in Brewerville. Picture credit: Alvin Kromah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Terrance Collins, the owner of Quezp, said an official had told him to shut down after the publication. Collins declined to identify the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to get in any more trouble as I am already in,\u201d Collins told The DayLight via WhatsApp. He said he was in Turkey on a medical trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re wrong, you\u2019re wrong,\u201d he added.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and Energy declined to speak on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illegal mining carries<\/a> a fine of up to US$2,000, a 24-month prison term, or both fine and imprisonment, if covicted by a court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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