FACT-CHECK: ABC’s claims about Liberia’s 2023 gold production, export fact-checked

Researched by Alfa Shaban

A former Liberian presidential candidate, Alexander Benedict Cummings, popularly referred to as ABC, recently critiqued the country’s mineral concession regime.

In a video posted on April 15, 2026, on his official Facebook page, the leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) questioned whether citizens were benefiting from Liberia’s vast natural resources, particularly in the mining sector.

While highlighting the recent case of a mining firm’s contracts issue, he said: “If you look at historical numbers, I think 2023, the LEITI suggested that there was 1.3 million kilograms of gold extracted and exported from Liberia at a value of around US$650 to US$700 million. 

“Did the Liberian people get a fair share of that almost US$700 million that left our country in terms of our natural resources?” he queried, calling for an overhaul of the concession regime Liberia was currently operating (watch from 01:54 seconds onwards). 

This report will verify the amount of gold Liberia exported in 2023 and the amount of money accrued.

Fact-Check

The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) 2023 report, which Cummings referred to, was the first document that FactSpace West Africa consulted.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global Standard to promote open and accountable management of natural resources. It seeks to strengthen government and company systems, inform public debates, and enhance trust. Liberia is one of many implementing countries that publish periodic reports on resource management. 

The 2023 Full Year LEITI report, published in December 2025, referenced two main sources of reporting on minerals production and export- the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

FactSpace West Africa also checked the 2024 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Liberia to corroborate the gold production volumes in the LEITI report. 

We observed that the production volume in the report was captured in ounces, unlike the kilogrammes in the LEITI report. 

We converted the 438,491 ounces of gold produced in 2023 per the report, and we arrived at a kilogram equivalent of around 12,431 kg using the standard ounce metric. 

This figure aligns with the 12,379 kg figure quoted from the CBL in the LEITI document. 

Verdicts

From the evidence available, Commings’ claim that 1.3 million kg of gold was extracted and exported in 2023 is False; However, the claim that Liberia got between 650 million and 700 million dollars is rated partly true because Liberia got over 650 million dollars, and no record shows it hit 700 million dollars in the year under review.

NB: We have reached out to Mr. Cummings via Facebook Messenger, his response will be incorporated into this report as and when.