HPX Outlines Long-Term Infrastructure and Mining Plans for Liberia

HPX President and CEO Bronwyn Barnes recently provided updates on the company’s activities, including progress on the Mount Nimba project (located in Guinea), as well as (on the Liberian side) the acquisition of the St. John River licenses, and the Liberty Corridor in Liberia.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer recently, Barnes highlighted the extensive preparations undertaken by HPX’s technical team for the construction of Mount Nimba and the plans to transport the ore via Liberian rail and port infrastructure. 

The project, which will enter the construction phase soon, has already completed a feasibility study as well as an environmental and social impact assessment. “We have been incredibly busy across the board," Barnes said. “A significant amount of work has been done by the technical team in preparation for our commitment to the construction of Mount Nimba.”

In Liberia, HPX has completed its technical due diligence on the acquisition of the St. John River and other licenses. Barnes mentioned that the company is now moving on to the financial aspects of the transactions, which will take place in a few weeks. “We are now moving on to the financial cost of the transactions, which will happen in a couple of weeks,” she stated.

From a corporate perspective, Barnes noted that HPX is actively working with shareholders on financing plans for the construction of Nimba Phase One, as well as other activities in Liberia. 

She recently visited Hong Kong, Boston, New York, and Toronto to discuss Nimba Phase One, the Liberty Corridor, and the St. John River.

“It’s a little difficult to say at the moment, because they are quite different properties,” she said, comparing the highly coveted Nimba iron ore asset to the St. John River asset. Essentially, both assets are in two vastly different stages of development.

“The Nimba iron ore asset has had a significant amount of money spent on it, both from a drilling perspective in the early days, but now also the development studies, the feasibility studies, the environment and social impact assessments and Nimba is ready to go into construction. The St. John River Licenses are what we call ‘earlier stage exploration opportunities’. So there is still a tremendous amount of work that we need to do at St. John River, and we’re going to go right back to basics. So that will start with drilling. On completion of the acquisition, that would be the first kind of activity that Liberians can expect to see.” 

She said there’s a couple of years of work that would need to be done in order to bring the St. John River asset into production.  

“The thing we particularly like about the St. John River asset is that it had historically been held by BHP Billiton, that there had been some preliminary assessment work done on it. The technical due diligence that our team did identified that it has the potential to host a potentially large iron ore resource of quite a good grade — not as high as we’ve seen in Guinea, but it’s certainly a product that would be of interest to the international iron ore market.”

When discussing the Liberty Corridor, Barnes emphasized its potential for investing in infrastructure in Liberia. “The value of the Liberty Corridor lies in the fact that it is an existing infrastructure corridor owned by the government and people of Liberia,” she said. “Our proposal involves upgrading and expanding the existing corridor by implementing new infrastructure and improving the overall efficiency of the corridor.”

What many may not know about the corridor is that it is 300 meters wide, which gives ample space to host additional rail infrastructure parallel to the existing Yekepa to Buchanan asset. 

According to Barnes, HPX’s plans for the Liberty Corridor are a key aspect of its strategy in Liberia. HPX is collaborating with the government of Liberia, under the guidance of President Joseph Boakai, to develop the corridor through a steering committee and a development agreement.

The Liberty Corridor development agreement, now poised to be delivered to the Interministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC), will provide the framework for progressing findings and moving through the development stage of the Liberty Corridor.

Barnes spoke about the need for a feasibility study to assess potential users (beyond just iron ore transport), construction costs, and timelines. She noted that this phase of work is crucial for the corridor. 

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” she said, noting the amount of process and due diligence required through all phases of development — including securing the financing for the project. Fortunately, international development partners and private investors alike are lining up to participate, given the massive economic potential the asset could have on mining, agriculture, logistics and people transport in the subregion. 

In the meantime, however, HPX will still need to use the existing rail infrastructure to ship its iron ore while the Liberty Corridor is being developed. 

“We’re really interested in building an iron ore portfolio in West Africa,” Barnes said. “With our existing agreement with the governments of Liberia and Guinea to export through Liberia and have access to the existing railway line, we are very excited about the potential for the Liberty Corridor Project.”

According to her, HPX plans to ship an initial two to five million tons per year on the existing rail, while the Liberty Corridor is being developed. HPX will obviously negotiate with the GOL and relevant parties to share in the cost of any improvements needed to the rail and port for its operations.

Barnes acknowledged the support from the local community and the Liberian government for the project, which has generated interest from individuals seeking jobs and contracting opportunities.

In conclusion, Barnes expressed HPX's excitement about the opportunities and potential the projects in West Africa present. “We believe prioritizing existing infrastructure as valuable for other users is a high priority for this government,” she said.