The_Open_Door_deel1

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N.I.O.C. dated January 1, 1964 for the purchase of ore
from L.M.C. by N.I.O.C. which made it possible to upgrade the
Mano River ore with the high-grade iron ore of Bomi Hills, thus
making a saleable product of N. I.O.C's ores. The agreed joint
exploitation of the iron ore deposits of the Bea Mountains,
through the 1973 Memorandum of Agreement relative to the Bea
Mountains, signed by the Liberian Government and the two mining
companies, was referred to above. The complex relations between
the Christie Estate, M.M.A.L., N.I.O.C and L.M.C - as of 1977 -
are shown in Chart 1. The two mining companies also had in common
the Dutch firm of Wm.H. Muller & Company which acted as
N.I.O.C.'s sales agent until 1973. Its iron ore sales agency,
agreement with N.I.O.C was then terminated and replaced by an
agreement with CAEMI International B.V., a Dutch/Brazilian company
in which former Muller employees participated (see below).
In practice, M.M.A.L. was responsible for the management of
N, I.O.C., did nearly all of the administrative work for N.I.O.C,
did all of the administrative and other corporate work for
Liberian Enterprises Ltd., and arranged all of the institutional
loans and suppliers credits which were made available to N.I.O.C
Lansdell Christie had personally and directly lent an amount of
$ 2.6 million to N.I.O.C, and some $1,6 million to the Liberian
shareholders in the Liberian Enterprises, and L.M.C had loaned
$ 1.4 million to N.I.O.C, besides its involvement in the
operations of the mining company already referred to,(95)
The production of ore started in 1962 and by the end of 1977
nearly $ 290,000,00 worth of iron ore had been shipped out of
the country. The Government's income from•N.I.0.C. during this
'16-year period, however, was only $ 2,523,000.00 - excluding
exploration and surface taxes which during the last ten years
(1968 - 1977) amounted to little over $ 1,000.00 a year, being
the rental for the use of 10,144 acres (see Table 9).
With less than 1 per cent of sales revenue reaching the Treasury
the question arises why the Republic of Liberia received so
little income from a promising mining venture in which it had
even invested $ 5 million? Part of the answer is found in the
provisions of the 1958 concession agreement as well as in the
1957 Statement of Understanding between the Liberian Government
and L.M.C By exempting L.M.C. from paying taxes on the income
which this company derived from its 15? equity interest in
N.I.O.C and agreeing to take 50? of N.I.O.C.'s equity capital
while waiving its right to demand payment of a royalty and
exempting N.I.O.C and its shareholders as well as its (managing)
agent(s) from all taxes or other charges - except an exploration
and a surface tax (96) - the Government certainly made a very
costly gesture. It Is worth noting that it was not the first time
that the Government participated in a private company. It also
held a 25? interest in The Liberia Company for which, however, it
had not made a cash contribution (see Chapter 4). The concession