Sierra Leonean Communities Sue Giant Mining Corporation Over Unpaid Crop Compensation

The road leading to the Jinshi mining sites in Sierra Leone.

Crop owners in Mokombay Village, Lower Banta Chiefdom, Moyamba District, Sierra Leone, have filed a lawsuit against Jinshi Mining (SL) Ltd., alleging the company failed to compensate them for crops destroyed on their farmland during its mining operations.

The Chinese-owned company has been mining rutile in Moyamba since 2022. In 2024, its operations expanded into farmlands belonging to six villages in Lower Banta Chiefdom, including Mokombay.

“The extraction process has damaged our crops, taking away our livelihood,” said Morie Marju, a resident and affected crop owner in Mokombay.

Under Section 39 of the Customary Land Rights Act (2022), “where land leased to an investor contains crops, the investor must compensate the owner for crop losses in accordance with rates set by the relevant government agency or based on market value.”

Jinshi Mining (SL) Ltd. has said it met its obligation by disbursing crop compensation funds through the Paramount Chief of Lower Banta Chiefdom.

“We were expecting him to call us to come and collect our crop compensation,” Marju explained. “Some villages started receiving their money in small tranches, but we the people of Mokombay have not received any of the NLe 570,000 we are owed.”

Victor Musa, another affected crop owner, said the delayed payment has had serious consequences for families. “Our children’s education has been at a standstill for months because we were relying on that money to pay school fees,” Musa said. “Since we haven’t received it, we’ve been unable to pay, and some of our children have been forced to drop out.”

Community members say the situation highlights the power imbalance they experience in land negotiations. “The government gives these companies licences to mine our lands, but we the people have little say in the process,” one resident said. “When money meant for us comes, our leaders hold on to it and there’s nothing we can do about it. Only God fights for us.”

There have been broader tensions between the company and the communities over claims that the mining operation has polluted vital water sources. These tensions erupted into youth-led protests, during which company vehicles were prevented from accessing the mining site. In response, Local Unit Commanders intervened, which led to multiple arrests and alleged beatings.

Namati filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mokombay crop owners as they seek the compensation they say they are legally owed.

As the case moves forward, Mokombay residents say they hope the court will compel payment and clarify proper procedures for disbursing compensation directly to crop owners.

Jinshi Mining (SL) Ltd. and the Lower Banta Chiefdom authorities had not publicly commented on the lawsuit at the time of publication.

For Mokombay’s farmers, however, the matter is urgent. The land that once sustained their families is now a mining site, and their need to be compensated increases with each passing day.