Elenilto is part of Israeli businessman Jacob Engel’s Russia-focused real estate company Engelinvest. It has some history in the West Africa mining sector but no apparent oil exploration expertise, although, on 27 August, the company announced the award of the onshore XIH Block in Georgia, following a competitive tender, complementing its entry into Sierra Leone.
In February 2010, Elenilto was awarded a 25-year licence for the Western Cluster iron ore concession in Liberia. Critics complained that Elenilto had no technical expertise in iron ore development, despite the bid requirements including technical and managerial competence and previous successful investment and management of similar operations for at least five years of continuous iron ore mining. The award was later examined by the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission, and Elenilto in mid-2011 sold a 51% stake in the Western Cluster to India’s Vedanta.
More recently, Elenilto was sued for damages in Liberia by local company Orbital Inc, which claimed it had a 2008 agreement to jointly pursue the Western Cluster project and had played a role in introducing Elenilto to key Liberian officials. In late August, the case was dismissed by a civil court citing lack of jurisdiction.
However, a Liberian journalist told African Energy: “This story remains a topic of discussion in Liberia because of how it brought the focus on the government’s apparent inability to handle or prosecute apparent cases of corruption within its ranks. [Then head of Elenilto’s Liberia operations] Amir Nagammy was a scrap collector/buyer around Monrovia but his daring bid for a major Liberian concession has made him a nationally unwelcome figure.”
