Assessing the effects of mining in the development of Gbonkolenken chiefdom, a case study of Yele town

The mining sector contributes substantially to government revenue in Sierra Leone. Over the years, governments have made necessary efforts to improve the mineral sectors of the economy. It is therefore not surprising that the nation's medium- and long-term development strategy emphasizes modernization of minerals for industrialization and a driver of accelerated economic growth. However, the reason for this study is to assess the effects of mining on the development of the Gbonkolenken chiefdom. A case study of Yele town aimed to investigate the effects of mining in the following objectives: to assess the social, environmental, and cultural impacts of mining, to examine the economic impact of the mining company in the area, and to provide workable recommendations for sustainable mining.

The key findings of the study say that, negative impact of mining in communities of operation in Yele communities, taking to consideration the environment conditions, there is lot of land degradation which somehow cause water pollution in the communities, the other things the result shows is poor communities involvement in mining activities, this means that, the mining companies in operations in various communities are less monitor by Sierra Leone government. This gives the mining companies the excuse not to even work on their corporate social responsibilities in the communities of operation.