Sierra Leone to Host First PanAfGeo Training on Geohazards and Mining

Sierra Leone’s National Minerals Agency is preparing to host the country’s first PanAfGeo training course, with the programme scheduled for December 7 to 12, 2026.

The course will focus on geohazards and mine environmental management, combining classroom learning with practical field exercises in Sierra Leone. It is expected to bring together approximately 35 geologists from Africa and Europe, supported by five expert trainers.

Preparations and field locations

An international team of geologists led by Professor Stanisław Wołkowicz visited Freetown for one week to support preparations for the programme. The delegation included Giuseppe Delmonaco and Dr. Francesco Traversa of the Geological Survey of Italy, also known as ISPRA.

Working with the National Minerals Agency, the visiting experts assessed possible locations for the practical activities and undertook technical preparations for the course.

Planned fieldwork includes investigations in selected hillside areas of Freetown. Participants are expected to examine the factors contributing to slope failures and landslides. The programme also includes geotechnical assessments at amphibolite quarries, as well as an examination of slope stability and waste management at an active hematite mining site.

The exercises are designed to help geoscientists identify geological risks, evaluate vulnerable locations and propose measures to reduce those risks. The exact sites for the field activities have not been identified.

Disaster risk cooperation

During the preparatory mission, the international delegation also held discussions with Sierra Leone’s National Disaster Management Agency. The talks addressed cooperation between geological institutions and disaster management authorities.

Among the issues discussed was the use of geoscience data to support disaster risk reduction, preparedness and emergency response. The engagement links the planned technical training with wider efforts to improve understanding and management of risks associated with landslides, unstable slopes and mining activities.

Sierra Leone joins PanAfGeo+ phase

The December course will mark Sierra Leone’s participation in PanAfGeo+ 2025–2029, the third phase of a geological support programme intended to strengthen geoscientific expertise and institutional cooperation across Africa.

PanAfGeo+ is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships and jointly managed by EuroGeoSurveys, the Organisation of African Geological Surveys and the French Geological Survey, BRGM.

Since the PanAfGeo initiative began in 2016, it has reportedly trained more than 1,750 geoscientists across Africa. Hosting the course is expected to give Sierra Leonean geoscientists access to expertise from African and European institutions while supporting professional cooperation in geological assessment and environmental management.

Sierra Leone’s extractive sector includes iron ore, diamonds, rutile, bauxite and gold. Against that background, the planned training is intended to strengthen local capacity to assess geological hazards and environmental concerns linked to mining, although the course has not yet taken place and its outcomes remain to be determined.