Lamco
The Liberian-American-Swedish Minerals Company (LAMCO) is a defunct Liberian corporation that mined for iron ore in the Nimba range in Liberia. Founded in 1955 by American and Swedish investors, the company established the first large-scale mining operation in Liberia following the discovery of the Nimba ore body by geologist Sandy Clarke in the 1950s. A standard gauge railroad approximately 250 km long was built, linking the mine in the north of the country, to the Port of Buchanan. The Nimba project was managed by LAMCO, Bethlehem Steel and the Liberian government. A nationalization policy was introduced to gradually phase out the non-Liberian staff. The company's operations halted at the heights of the First Liberian Civil War in the 1990s. Today, the former LAMCO mining operation is being reactivated by Arcelor Mittal.