In collaboration with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the National Minerals Agency, the IGF hosted a 5-day workshop in Freetown to strengthen environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) processes and advance environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices in the mining sector.
Over 50 participants attended the training, including officials from key government agencies, local councils, and university students. The workshop fostered institutional dialogue and collaboration to improve ESG integration across the mining life cycle.
Interactive sessions covered:
- Sierra Leone’s mining landscape, including an overview of laws, institutions, licensing, and ESG challenges
- ESIA and ESG principles and reporting
- Environmental and social management planning
- Monitoring, inspections, and compliance auditing
- Mine closure planning
- Stakeholder engagement
Participants applied the IGF’s Mining ESIA Tool to help diagnose and improve national ESIA, environmental management systems, and legal frameworks by promoting better institutional coordination, transparency, regulatory compliance, and sustainable mineral policy development. Sierra Leone’s Environmental Protection Agency also presented its Service Charter and Operational Checklist, highlighting the need for clearly defined institutional roles in effective environmental governance in the mining sector.
By the end of the workshop, participants had established a shared understanding of the strengths and gaps in Sierra Leone’s legal frameworks and institutional capacity from the early stages of project development through to mine closure and developed actionable recommendations to enhance the country’s ESG framework and interagency coordination.