Broken promises to local communities The contract AML signed with the Liberian government in 2005 granting the company the right to mine contains several conditions related to social development. It established that AML would build hospitals, schools, and employ local people in its operations. However, as of August 2023, local people living around AMLs operations, the AML Workers’ Union, and Liberian politicians  argue that many of the promises made in the contract have not been fulfilled. In 2019, the Ministry of Mines and Energy wrote to AML criticising its noncompliance with the contract due to the poor status of the hospitals that had been built, and its failure to deliver a school system to the city of Buchanan. 

Poor and unequal treatment of workers The AML Workers’ Union has been very vocal about a number of shortcomings by AML to treat its Liberian workers with respect and dignity. According to the Union, local staff do not receive retirement packages, hazard pay, or sufficient support following workplace injuries, especially compared to the predominantly white expat staff. AML’s CEO in 2020 admitted that the housing for Liberian employees is in much worse disrepair compared to the expat housing. In one case, a former AML employee Stephan Nahn lost his arm in a rock crushing machine, after which he was dismissed and was only compensated with a one time US$9,000 payment. Additionally in 2021, AML was found guilty of unfair labour practices by hiring 546 workers as contractors for a prolonged period of time, and denying them benefits. As a result, the Liberian Ministry ordered them to pay a total of  US$308,000 to the former workers in compensation.

Water pollution In May 2022, AML was found guilty of dumping raw sewage into the wetland and river basin near its mining operations in Nimba county. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia fined AML US$110,000 for breaching several water and nature protection laws. 

Deforestation of the Nimba nature reserve ArcelorMittal Liberia’s iron ore mine is in the Nimba nature reserve, an area of outstanding biodiversity in West Africa. According to satellite data, since beginning operations in 2011 over 100 square kilometers of tree cover has been lost. That is equivalent to 22% of the forest that existed in 2000, or 18,600 football fields. The clearing of trees to expand the mine, and the rapid population growth surrounding the forest as jobs increase present a significant threat to the biodiversity of the region. 

Heightened risk of a new pandemic Tripling the production of AML’s iron ore mine will require massive amounts of deforestation in the Nimba Mountains, and rapid population growth in an already fragile ecosystem. Together these two factors increase the likelihood of “spillover”, i.e. people coming into contact with wildlife, and contracting a virus that could trigger the next global pandemic. A 2023 Reuters investigation named AML’s iron ore mine as one of the most likely places in the world for this to happen. The Nimba nature reserve is home to a large bat population which is widely considered to be the source of the Ebola epidemic. Expanding operations in the Nimba nature reserve will significantly increase the chances of new pandemics by bringing humans and bats into closer contact.

Corruption AML’s operations are governed by a Mineral Development Agreement (MDA), signed in 2005. According to a 2006 report by Global Witness, the original signing of the agreement was rife with bribery, coercion and corruption. The 2005 MDA was widely regarded by international development experts as tilted in the favour of AML rather than Liberia. As AML and the government of Liberia renegotiate the MDA, EU parliamentarians and Liberian political commentators are concerned that the new iteration will also be the result of intransparent, corrupt processes, and a lack of sustainable development for Liberia.