Liberia: Govt, Ivanhoe Atlantic Set to Sign Landmark Rail Access Agreement
In a remarkable breakthrough for Liberia’s mining and logistics sectors, the Government of Liberia and Ivanhoe Atlantic (formerly High Power Exploration/”HPX”) are set to sign a long-awaited Concession and Access Agreement (CAA) on Friday, July 4, 2025.
The agreement, which has been years in negotiation-spanning the Administrations of Weah and Boakai, is being hailed as a pivotal step in operationalizing the country’s multi-user rail policy and unlocking new investment potential in the iron ore corridor stretching from Guinea to Liberia, where multiple investors have sat holding exploration licenses with no access to rail and port for evacuation.
This has stifled growth for many years. All is set to change, as promised by President Boakai in multiple public statements, that Liberia will transition to a multi-user rail system.
According to officials at the National Investment Commission (NIC), the signing of the agreement will take place in the conference room of the NIC with the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC), which led the negotiations on behalf of the Liberian government. The agreement signals a consensus among key stakeholders on the deal’s strategic importance. Under current statute, the IMCC consists of the NIC as Chair, Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of Labor, Minister of Internal Affairs, and the relevant sector Ministry covering the investment.
In the case of Ivanhoe Atlantic, that includes the Minister of Transport and Minister of Mines and Energy. The President has the authority to also appoint any other Minister he so desires to sit on the IMCC.
Although the full details of the CAA remain undisclosed ahead of the signing, the agreement is expected to cement Ivanhoe Atlantic’s access to Liberia’s rail and port infrastructure for the transport of high-grade iron ore from its operations in Guinea for the next 25 years. According to previous media reports and company press releases during the negotiations, the Agreement includes rail access income for Liberia to the tune of $1.6 billion over 25 years, an estimated $600 million in other taxes and fees to be paid to the Government, $175 million in contributions for impacted communities in Nimba, Bong and Grand Bassa counties, and major investments in infrastructure including rail and port assets over the period.
In earlier press reports about the pre-feasibility study on the Ivanhoe project, it’s estimated that over $900 million will be invested in infrastructure for expansion projects to transport up to 30 million tons per annum of iron ore through Liberia. It is expected that this will translate into thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities and contractual opportunities for Liberian businesses and service providers. According to a recent press release from the Company, it is completing its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in August of this year and expects all environmental permits to be in place in order to commence construction before the end of this year.
The deal is also likely to set terms for rail operations under Liberia’s new multi-user framework, as mandated by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s Executive Order 136, which established the National Rail Authority and formalized the country’s transition to an independently operated rail system by 2030. In the meantime, ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML) remains the rail operator until its own Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) is amended, which is said to be under negotiations with the IMCC.
As part of the transition from single user to multi-user rail system, in a letter from the NIC made public announcing the Government’s position, the Government of Liberia will commence an international tendering process for a new independent rail operator that serves the needs of all rail users to be in place by 2030. Rail System Operating Principles and Multi-user Agreements governing all users including AML will be developed by the Independent Operator and the National Rail Authority.
The announcement comes at a time of rising global demand for critical minerals, and Liberia’s emerging role in that supply chain has not gone unnoticed. The CAA’s finalization is seen as a catalyst for a broader transformation of Liberia’s rail infrastructure from a single-user legacy system–historically dominated by AML–to a modern, open-access network that can serve multiple mining, agriculture, and industrial interests across the subregion, on a fair for all user access basis.
“This agreement opens the corridor to competition, transparency, and strategic investment,” said a senior government official familiar with the negotiations. “It will help attract other players and create a fairer playing field for infrastructure development.”
The timing of the agreement is particularly significant, as President Boakai prepares to travel to Washington, D.C. next week for a high-level summit hosted by U.S. President Donald J. Trump. The July 9-11 summit, which will include only five African heads of state, is being described as a targeted diplomatic engagement focused on commercial partnerships, critical minerals cooperation, and regional security.
According to diplomatic sources, Liberia’s inclusion in the summit reflects its growing importance to the U.S. in securing mineral supply chains vital to clean energy technologies and defense industries. Ivanhoe Atlantic’s U.S.-backed investment in high-grade iron ore further positions Liberia as a key node in that strategic calculus. It also positions the Government of Liberia as engaging with U.S. Government and U.S. Companies in Commercial Diplomacy, something that is now a priority in U.S. foreign policy.
At the summit, President Boakai is expected to highlight his policy for multi-user rail access as a model of transparent, mutually beneficial resource development. The deal also positions Liberia to attract future U.S. support for its infrastructure ambitions–most notably, the planned “Liberty Corridor,” connecting Liberia and Guinea as a regional logistics and mining corridor modeled on the U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor in Southern Africa that connects Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)–countries with major natural resources.
For Ivanhoe Atlantic, the agreement represents a critical milestone in its efforts to bring the 750-million-ton high-grade iron ore deposit in Guinea’s Lola and Nimba regions to global markets. The company has long advocated for access to Liberia infrastructure, particularly the Yekepa-Buchanan rail line with easy access to port infrastructure, as the most viable export route for its ore. While ArcelorMittal Liberia has operated the rail and iron ore port exclusively for over two decades, President Boakai’s executive order and subsequent policy shifts have created an opening for alternative users under a regulated, independently managed system with the soon to be constituted National Rail Authority.
The July 4 signing of the agreement will mark a new chapter in Liberia’s resource governance, one that government officials say balances foreign investment with national sovereignty and inclusive development. The agreement is expected to be submitted to the Liberian legislature shortly after signing and approval by the President for review and ratification–a standard constitutional step in all major concession deals.
While the political and commercial implications are significant, the signing also carries symbolic weight. For years, Liberia’s aspirations to unlock the full value of its natural resources have been constrained by outdated agreements and monopoly infrastructure. The CAA with Ivanhoe Atlantic signals a pivot toward transparency, competition, and long-term economic planning.
As one policy advisor put it, “This is not just about mining; it’s about transforming how Liberia does business–about asserting control over our strategic assets while building partnerships that bring lasting value to our people.”
With the CAA now in hand, and high-level backing from the United States, Liberia is poised to take its place as a credible and competitive player in the global critical minerals supply chain, something that the current Trump Administration has been very clear about prioritizing. The coming months–after the signing of this Agreement to next week’s Washington White House summit–could well define the future trajectory of Liberia’s economy for a generation to come.
By Liberian Observer.
